Pooja Shukla, a 25-year-old student activist, who was arrested in 2017 for purportedly waving black flags at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, will be representing Samajwadi Party from their Lucknow (North) Assembly seat.
She has become one of the youngest candidates in the UP Assembly polls and will be contesting against BJP's Neeraj Bora.
Shukla came into limelight in June 2017 when she, along with 10 other protesters, attempted to stop the CM's cavalcade on the Lucknow University Road and waved black flags at them. She had called it a "democratic protest" against government policies, but she was subsequently arrested.
I had never thought we would be arrested but it reaffirmed my faith in fighting for what is right, she stated recalling the incident.
Shukla met Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav when she was released from jail after 20 days of arrest. That is when she became the face of Samajwadi Chatra Sabha, the student wing of the party.
More About Shukla
In 2018, Lucknow University had denied Shukla admission for protesting against the CM, which resulted in an indefinite hunger strike led by her, forcing the administration to give in and allow admission to all the students.
In January 2020, she had carried out protests with a group of women, in Lucknow, against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Clock Tower.
“I believe that young people, especially the students, are kept away from politics in the name of education. This must be changed. Only a politically aware student can choose a better leader. This is how young people can change the politics of the country and take it towards development.”Pooja Shukla
Lucknow will be going to polls on 23 February, in the fourth phase.
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