Mulayam Singh Yadav to contest from two seats for Lok Sabha elections

In an obvious bid to halt the Modi ripple effect in eastern UP, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has decided to contest the Azamgarh seat in Uttar Pradesh, too. His candidature from Mainpuri, which he represents in the Lok Sabha, has already been announced.

Azamgarh is as important a centre of eastern UP, which accounts for 32 Lok Sabha seats, as is Varanasi from where the BJP's PM-in-waiting Narendra Modi would be contesting. Modi's candidature from the holy city is expected to affect the outcome of several seats in the region, including some in neighbouring Bihar, too.
East UP is equally crucial for SP as the maximum number of its MLAs won from this area in the 2012 Assembly election. The SP has pinned its hopes on eastern UP to boost its tally in the upcoming election as well. 

However, SP insiders say there is another important reason for Mulayam throwing his hat into the ring from Azamgarh. The sources say Mulayam took this decision to stall, even if temporarily, a running feud within his family.

Informed sources aver that Mulayam's younger son Prateek Yadav wanted to debut in politics by contesting from Azamgarh which would have been a "safe" seat for him considering the large number of Yadavs and Muslims in the electorate there. But, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has been opposing his step brother's entry into politics and is reported to have put his foot down on his candidature from Azamgarh. 

The Yadav supremo is learnt to be planning to win both the seats and then vacate Mainpuri for Prateek to contest in the by-election. Vacating strongholds for family members seems to be a tradition in the family, and has happened earlier in Ferozabad, Kannauj, Sambhal and Budaun.

Akhilesh had won Ferozabad and Kannauj in 2009. He vacated the former from where his wife Dimple Yadav contested but lost to Raj Babbar in the by-election. Later, Akhilesh vacated Kannauj when he became CM, and Dimple won unopposed from there. Mulayam has similarly left Sambhal and Budaun in the past for close relatives. The SP has won the Azamgarh seat twice. It is indeed ironical that Ramakant Yadav, who won the seat for SP both the times, will now be posing a strong challenge to the SP supremo as the BJP nominee this time.

However, party leaders are more than confident that once Mulayam is there, Ramakant would stand no chance. "When 'netaji' is himself in the contest, Ramakant would stand nowhere," said senior SP leader Naresh Agarwal. Muslims, Yadavs and all backwards would go with Mulayam, he added.