Akhilesh Yadav to contest from his old Lok Sabha seat of Kannauj in place of his wife Dimple

The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav said that he will contest 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kannauj parliamentary seat in place of his wife Dimple Yadav.

Talking to media persons in Lucknow, Akhilesh also said that his father will change his seat from Azamgarh to his traditional Mainupri Lok Sabha seat. At present, Akhilesh is a member of the UP Council (Upper House) and his wife Dimple Yadav is an MP from Kannauj.

“It is my personal wish to contest 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kannauj. Netaji (as his father Mulayam Singh Yadav is known) will contest from Mainpuri,” said Akhikesh who was elected thrice from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in 1999 (by-polls), 2004 and 2009. Dimple was elected in 2012 Lok Sabha by-polls when Akhilesh had quit the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat after becoming UP Chief Minister.

Facing BJP charges of promoting nepotism, Akhilesh had announced in Raipur a few months ago that his wife Dimple Yadav will not contest from Kannauj again. Since then speculation was rife that he might contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kannauj again in place of his wife.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, his father and Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had contested from Azamgarh and Mainpuri Lok Sabha seats and had won from both the places.  Later, he had retained Azamgarh and gave his traditional Mainpuri Lok Sabha to his grand-nephew and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son-in-law Tej Pratap Singh Yadav who had won the by-polls.

Shivpal Yadav calls for unity

Sidelined Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav today stressed the need for unity in the party and Yadav family in order to fight "communal forces" in the country.
 

"I am still with 'netaji' (Mulayam). I will do whatever he directs me to do. I still pray for family unity. Only by being united, we can fight communal forces strongly," Shivpal, who has been sidelined in the party by nephew Akhilesh Yadav, told reporters here, as he turned 63 today.

"The state is facing a lot of challenges. Farmers and youths are a disgruntled lot. Corruption is rising, but there is no one to hear," he said.

Shivpal's birthday, which coincided with 'Basant Panchami', was celebrated by his supporters as 'Satat Sangharsh Diwas' (relentless struggle day).

To mark the occasion, Shivpal also released an e book about his political life, where photos of Akhilesh, the former chief minister of the state, were conspicuous by their absence.

A close aide of Shivpal believed that a leader of his stature, who nurtured the Samajwadi Party and made it a principal political force in Uttar Pradesh, "cannot live in a state of limbo" for an indefinite period.

Soon after the elevation of Akhilesh as the party president in January last year, Shivpal had announced that he would float his own party by April 2017.

As of now, supporters of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal have suddenly become active and can again be seen reaching out to their old supporters.

"The 2019 Lok Sabha elections are hardly a year away and there is no let up in the war of attrition between Akhilesh and his uncle. It is time for Shivpal to act decisively," a Shivpal supporter said.

Party insiders said it was too early to comment on whether Shivpal will go against the wishes of Mulayam and float a new political party, as the latter might not like the birth of a Samajwadi Party splinter group that could dent his son's claim to the state throne. 

With inputs from PTI