The party will not be giving ticket to Tripathi who represents Handia Assembly seat, BSP's district unit president Deep Chandra Gautam said.
In an apparent bid to salvage its image ahead of the next year's UP Assembly polls, ruling BSP has decided not to field Higher Education Minister Rakesh Dhar Tripathi against whom allegations of corruption have been levelled.
The party will not be giving ticket to Tripathi who represents Handia Assembly seat, BSP's district unit president Deep Chandra Gautam said.
Gautam said the announcement that Tripathi will not be contesting from Handia in the next Assembly polls, was made yesterday itself at a function organised here on the occasion of the fifth death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshi Ram.
The decision comes in the wake of the state Lok Ayukta already recommending the dismissal of several ministers recently following which they were made to resign.
"The announcement was made by the party's zonal coordinator Satya Narain Jaisal in the presence of the minister himself, who in turn declared that he respected the decision of the party high command and would continue to work as a loyal functionary," the district BSP president said.
Tripathi had quit the BJP to join the BSP barely a year ahead of the 2007 Assembly polls, which saw Mayawati coming to power with an absolute majority. He was then inducted into the cabinet and made the Minister for Higher Education.
Tripathi's ministerial stint has been mired in controversies.
At present, the Lok Ayukta is investigating complaints of corruption against Tripathi, even as two other members of the cabinet - Secondary Education Minister Rangnath Mishra and Labour Minister Badshah Singh - were removed last week following the ombudsman's adverse reports against them.
Earlier, minister Awadh Pal Singh had met a similar fate.
Gautam has, however, said that the party is likely field the minister's nephew Pankaj Tripathi.
Pankaj had earlier been projected as the BSP candidate for the mayoral polls, which were scheduled to be held in November, but now appear to be in limbo as the government is yet to accord its approval to the state election commission for the same.
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