GORAKHPUR, Oct. 3 -- In a swift political realignment ahead of the legislative council elections, Sanjayan Tripathi was fielded by the Samajwadi Party from the Gorakhpur-Faizabad teachers' constituency on Saturday, barely 48 hours after he rebelled and resigned from the BJP over its choice of candidate.

Tripathi, who had filed his nomination papers as an independent on Thursday after the BJP denied him a ticket, was inducted into the SP at the party's state headquarters in Lucknow in the presence of senior leaders and subsequently declared its candidate for the constituency. His entry into the SP came after the party replaced its earlier nominee, Kamlesh Yadav.

The development followed the BJP's decision to field sitting MLC Dhruv Kumar...