Lucknow: A challenge from the BJP and the determination to reclaim a Samajwadi Party (SP) stronghold has led party chief Akhilesh Yadav to enter the poll fray in Kannauj, elevating the contest in the seat to a prestige battle for the SP.
Akhilesh Thursday filed his nomination from Kannauj, where he will face the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Subrat Pathak, the sitting MP.
Initially, the SP had nominated Akhilesh’s cousin and son-in-law of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, as its candidate from Kannauj.
However, upon persuasion from the SP’s local unit, Akhilesh decided to contest from Kannauj — a constituency the party has won five times since 1998. His popularity in the region has led party leaders to believe that his candidacy will bolster the INDIA bloc’s chances in the ‘Yadav belt’, comprising eight districts — Mainpuri, Etawah, Etah, Kasganj, Firozabad, Auraiya, Kannauj, and Farrukhabad.
These eight districts come under six Lok Sabha seats of Mainpuri, Etawah, Etah, Firozabad, Kannauj and Farrukhabad, set to go to polls in the third and fourth phases.
Congress sources told ThePrint that when Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi met on the campaign trail for seats in western UP last week, the issue of senior leaders contesting was discussed.
“Polling for the first two phases in UP is going to be over and these are the phases that have at least seven-eight seats where the INDIA alliance is giving the BJP a good fight. After that, the seats falling in the Awadh and Prayagraj regions will hardly give the alliance a chance to fight. There was a discussion around the need to boost the chances of the INDIA alliance, which is possible with senior leaders in the fray. Congress has asked Akhilesh to contest from Kannauj,” the leader said.
That the move stemmed from a strong demand raised by the local SP unit and even INDIA bloc partner Congress was confirmed by Akhilesh himself via a post on X.
“The way the city of fragrance is taking the BJP — a party that indulges in negative politics — towards loss, it will come to be known as ‘Kannauj-kranti’ (Kannauj revolution) in history. The public’s demand is the most important thing in a democracy. The voice emerging from every village and lane of Kannauj and the strong demand of local leaders and workers of SP and INDIA alliance…their wish is my command. Kannauj-kranti will happen,” he wrote.
Kannauj goes to polls in the fourth phase on 14 May.
All significant leaders of the party, including Akhilesh’s wife Dimple and uncle Ram Gopal Yadav were spotted with Akhilesh as he filed his nomination, a picture of Yadav family unity.
Meanwhile, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya was present with BJP candidate Subrat Pathak as he filed his nomination, as confirmed by BJP leaders.
SP spokesperson I.P. Singh told ThePrint that they are fighting the BJP which is using “saam daam dand bhed” (loosely translated to “by any means necessary”).
“We are set to emerge as the second major party in the country after the elections. SP is doing quite well in UP, which dominates Indian politics. When SP emerges as the second major party, we want Akhilesh ji to become home minister of India because he is a visionary leader. Even Nitin Gadkari came to inspect the Expressway which was built under Akhilesh ji’s government,” he said.
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‘Reclaiming Kannauj’
The Kannauj Lok Sabha seat remained a stronghold of the SP till 2019, when Subrat Pathak unseated Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav from the seat in a tightly-contested election by a little over 12,000 votes. Though the SP’s Kannauj unit had been preparing for Akhilesh to fight from the seat for the past one year, the party had Monday declared Tej Pratap Singh Yadav as its candidate from the seat, resulting in anger within the unit.
As disappointed party leaders met Akhilesh Tuesday, the SP chief was briefed on the difference between the popularity he commanded in the region as compared to Tej Pratap’s.
Moreover, sitting Kannauj MP and BJP candidate Subrat Pathak’s statements challenging Akhilesh nudged the SP leadership, say party insiders, who are now calling the fight in the seat a “prestige battle”.
“The national president wanted to fight from Kannauj and preparations for his campaign were going on for the past some months. When the SP lost Azamgarh, the national president felt that this should not have happened and wanted to ensure that party strongholds like Azamgarh and Kannauj are reclaimed. It was felt that if Akhilesh ji fights himself, Kannauj can easily be reclaimed,” said a senior SP leader to ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
Another leader said that it was also conveyed to Akhilesh that if he himself fights the election, it can boost INDIA bloc prospects in the Yadav belt.
Having been declared as the BJP candidate for the second time, Pathak had been making statements against SP and the Yadav family. After Tej Pratap’s ticket was declared, Pathak Monday asked if there was no other Yadav who could fight in Kannauj and Yadav-dominated seats. He also dared Akhilesh to fight from Kannauj, stating that anyone who fights from Kannauj will be badly defeated by the BJP.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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