New player in UP battle: Ex-CBI chief Nageshwar Rao's party seeks candidates for all 403 seats

Former interim CBI chief M Nageshwar Rao has begun preparations for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. His Sarvajan Sanatan Party (SSP) has invited applications from prospective candidates across all 403 constituencies in the state.

The retired IPS officer, who took charge as the party's national president in Varanasi last month, announced the first phase of candidate selection on X.

The exercise comes as political parties begin positioning themselves for the Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.

"This application is solely for preliminary screening in the first phase. Applicants found preliminarily suitable will be asked to provide detailed information and the required documents in the second phase," Rao said.

He clarified that applying did not guarantee a party ticket.

"Submitting an application does not confer any right or assurance of being selected as the party's candidate or receiving the party's ticket. The final decision on candidate selection will be made by the party's authorised leadership," he said.

Who can apply for a party ticket?

According to the party's announcement, applicants must be Indian citizens, registered voters in an Uttar Pradesh Assembly constituency and at least 25 years old by the date of scrutiny of nomination papers.

They must also accept the Sarvajan Sanatan Party's ideology, objectives and policies and commit to working in accordance with them.

The party has not yet announced its candidates for the elections.

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From CBI to electoral politics

Rao, a Hyderabad-based retired IPS officer, entered active politics in October 2026 when he assumed charge as national president of the Sarvajan Sanatan Party in Varanasi.

He previously served as additional director of the Central Bureau of Investigation and held interim charge of the agency's director's office during his career.

Explaining his decision to enter politics, Rao said the country needed an alternative to politics based on social divisions.

"The alternative is not another form of identity politics, but a politics rooted in Bharat's civilisational ethos, constitutional democracy, and the welfare and dignity of every citizen," he said.

Rao has positioned the party as one seeking to combine modern development with India's cultural and civilisational traditions.

"We do not seek to recreate the past. We seek to take the best of what Bharat has inherited, renew it for the present, enrich it through knowledge and innovation, and transmit it strengthened to future generations," he said.

The BJP is in power in Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while the Samajwadi Party remains the principal Opposition party in the Assembly.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, the BJP won 255 of the 403 seats, securing a second consecutive term in power. Its allies, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the NISHAD Party, won 12 and six seats, respectively, taking the alliance's tally to 273.

The Samajwadi Party emerged as the main Opposition with 111 seats, while its allies won another 14. The Congress secured two seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party just one.