New Delhi:
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh constituency, the party announced on Sunday. Azamgarh is the constituency of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav while the SP chief representated Kannauj constituency from 2000 to 2012.
Akhilesh Yadav's father Mulayam Singh Yadav is the sitting lawmaker from Azamgarh, which has a sizeable Muslim-Yadav vote bank. However, this year, the SP patriarch has been shifted to Mainpuri -- another Samajwadi Party bastion.
In 2014, his wife Dimple had contested the seat as he became the chief minister of the state. On March 8, the party had once again named sitting MP Dimple as its candidate from Kannauj.
Besides Akhilesh, the Samajwadi party also announnced the candidature of former UP minister Azam Khan from Rampur constituency. Khan is currently a sitting legislator from the the Rampur constituency. He has been representing constituency since 1980 when he first elected as an MLA on Janata Party (Secular) ticket.
The party also released its list of campaigners, which does not include the name of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Key star campaigners include Akhilesh Yadav, Ramgopal Yadav, Azam Khan and Jaya Bachchan.
Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) has formed a grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Ajit Singh's RLD. As per their seat sharing pact, the Samajwadi Party will contest the coming Lok Sabha elections on 37 seats, while the BSP will fight on 38. Three seats have been given to the RLD and two seats - Amethi and Rae Bareli were left vacant for the Congress.
