LUCKNOW: With the compact disc case against the Bharatiya Janata Party to be taken up by the Election Commission of India on Wednesday, Gopal Tandon, son of the Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Lalji Tandon, filed his papers as an Independent candidate from the Lucknow West Assembly seat on Tuesday.

Tuesday was the last day for the filing of nominations for the fifth phase of the polls to be held on April 28.

Mr. Lalji Tandon, who is the BJP candidate from the Lucknow West seat, had filed his papers last week. The BJP sources said that since his name figured prominently in the case — the controversial disc was officially released by Mr. Tandon on April 3 in Lucknow — he was apprehensive that he may be debarred from contesting the elections. Hence, his son was made to file his nomination, they said.

Mr. Lalji Tandon was twice elected from Lucknow West, in 1996 and 2002.

The nomination papers would be scrutinised tomorrow.

He and BJP president Rajnath Singh had been named in the FIR lodged at the Hazratganj police station by the Election Commission. The two had marched in procession to the police station on Monday in the company of top party leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L.K. Advani, and party vice-president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, to court arrest.

However, the Lucknow police administration refused to arrest them for want of evidence. The administration thus foiled the BJP's reported attempt to gain political mileage from the arrests, considering the saffron party's decision to launch a jail bharo agitation.

Surprise candidate

The Congress too sprung a surprise on the last day of nominations when a realtor, Sudhir Halwasiya, an unknown entity in Congress circles, filed his papers as the ``eleventh hour" candidate from Lucknow East seat.

Nagendra Singh Chauhan was declared the Congress candidate from this seat and his name figured in the list of nominees declared by the Central Election Committee of the AICC. Mr. Chauhan was preparing to file his papers but last-minute manipulations and backroom politics led to his ouster. Mr. Halwasiya's name is said to have been proposed by a Union Minister belonging to Lucknow.

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