SP's mayoral candidate joins BJP

Archana Verma, the Samajwadi Party's (SP) candidate for the mayor's post in Shahjahanpur, has defected to the BJP.

Archana, a former zila panchayat chairperson in Shahjahanpur, joined the saffron party in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and senior state minister Suresh Khanna.

Shahjahanpur goes to poll in the second phase on May 11, while Monday is the last day for filing nominations for the phase.

Archana, a Kurmi by caste, is the daughter-in-law of four-time SP MLA and former Uttar Pradesh minister, Ram Murti Verma.

Ram Murti Verma had been winning from Akbarpur constituency in Ambedkar Nagar until 2017 when he lost to BSP's Ram Achal Rajbhar.

After Rajbhar switched over to the SP, Ram Murti Verma was asked to contest from Tanda assembly seat in Shahjahanpur, which he won.

His son and Archana's husband Rajesh Verma contested from the Dadraul Assembly seat on an SP ticket but lost to the BJP's Manvendra Singh.

Archana's defection came barely 10 days after Akhilesh picked her as the party candidate for the mayoral post in the recently constituted Shahjahanpur municipal corporation.

Meanwhile, Peethadheeshwar of Teen Kailasha temple in Ayodhya, Mahant Girish Pati Tripathi, will be the BJP candidate for the mayoral seat in Ayodhya.

He will replace the incumbent Hrishikesh Upadhyay.