The mayoral election in Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s home constituency will primarily involve competition between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). Mangalesh Srivastav, an experienced member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), has been chosen as the BJP candidate for the mayoral election. Originally hailing from Maharajganj district, he received his early education at Saraswati Shishu Mandir. He completed his MBBS and MD (Pathology) degrees from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College in Kanpur. Presently, he serves as the Vice President of Saraswati Shishu Mandir and Saraswati Shiksha Samiti. Additionally, he has actively participated in various social initiatives associated with the Gorakhnath Temple.
Kajal Nishad, the mayoral candidate for the Samajwadi Party, is a professional actress. While she was born in Kutch, Gujarat, her family currently resides in Mumbai. Kajal was previously involved with the Congress party in Mumbai and was nominated as a candidate from the Gorakhpur Rural Assembly constituency during the 2012 assembly elections. Although she did not emerge victorious, she continued her involvement in politics. In 2021, Kajal met Abu Azmi, a Samajwadi Party legislator in Mumbai, who suggested she meets Akhilesh Yadav, the national president of the Samajwadi Party and former UP Chief Minister. Following their meeting, Kajal expressed her desire to join the Samajwadi Party.