Akhilesh Yadav will contest in UP elections as pressure mounts: Reports

In November last year, Akhilesh was believed to have said that he would not be contesting in the election. The Azamgarh MP has never contested in a state election — not in 2012 or 2017. In 2012, when he became the country’s youngest chief minister, he took the route of the Legislative Council.

Akhilesh’s constituency has not yet been decided. Some reports claimed he might be fielded from two seats and one of them could be Azamgarh’s Gopalpur.

According to insiders, the pressure on Akhilesh was built as Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be contesting from Gorakhpur. Mulayam Singh’s daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav joining the BJP is another pressure point on Samajwadi Party which apparently made Akhilesh change his mind.

When Akhilesh reportedly said he won’t be contesting the assembly election, his party said the decision will be taken collectively. “BJP will be wiped out of Uttar Pradesh. The people of UP are with Samajwadi Party. Whether or not Akhilesh Yadav will contest the assembly election will be decided by the party,” Aashish Yadav said at that time.

The campaigning for the high-voltage UP election has reached a feverish pitch with the war of words between BJP and the Samajwadi Party. After the BJP announced CM Adityanath’s name from Gorakhpur, Akhilesh said the central leadership has sent him home by fielding him from Gorakhpur. “But from where is Akhilesh Yadav contesting the election? Why don’t you announce it?” BJP’s election co-in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur recently commented.

Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal have announced an alliance for the assembly elections, while the Nationalist Congress Party has announced to have tied up with the SP for both the Uttar Pradesh and the Goa elections. The Trinamool Congress said it will not contest in UP but will support Akhilesh’s party and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will also campaign for Samajwadi Party.