Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, May 29

Uttar Pradesh Transport Office was opened at night to quickly provide a driving licence to former film star and former Samajwadi Party member of Parliament Jayaprada triggering speculations of her being nominated for the Legislative Council.

The Regional Transport Office here was opened after 9 pm on May 27. Within 10 minutes, all technical formalities, including the mandatory biometric fingerprints, were completed and a driving license issued to Jayaprada on her mentor Amar Singh’s Lucknow address.

“The urgency with which the licence has been issued points towards a correlation with the volatile political situation,” said an SP insider.

He was obviously referring to Governor Ram Naik returning the list of the names of nine MLC candidates forwarded by the Akhilesh Yadav government under the nominated category.

Quoting constitutional responsibility, the Governor has sought more information regarding special qualifications of the nine members, who incidentally are all party men close to the Yadav family. Section 171 clause 5 of the Constitution says: “The members to be nominated by the Governor under sub-clause (e) of clause (3) shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following – literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service”.

The likelihood of Jayaprada’s name being recommended for MLC under the nominated category is said to be the reason behind the hurry in which her driving licence has been issued establishing her as a resident of Lucknow.

Technically, Jayaprada was Samajwadi Party MP from Rampur till May 2014. However, she along with her mentor Amar Singh had been dismissed from the SP in January 2010.

Speculation of both of them re-joining the SP has been going on for some time. Both of them have been in political wilderness after losing last year’s Lok Sabha election. Despite praising PM Narendra Modi, Amar Singh failed to find a toehold in the BJP.