Though the BJP candidate from the Sitapur Lok Sabha constituency, Rajesh Verma had won the seat in 2014 with a margin of 51,027 by defeating his nearest rival and then sitting BSP MP, Kaiser Jahan, the former had trailed behind the latter in the Laharpur assembly segment by 6321 votes. SP has once again reposed faith in its former MLA Anil Verma to contest the Laharpur assembly seat in 2017 elections, the sitting BSP MLA Mohammad Jasmir Ansari is once again in the fray on behalf of the party.