Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav files nomination papers from Kannauj
Kannauj: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav files his nomination for the Lok Sabha elections in Kannauj. (PTI photo) (IMAGE POSTED ON X/@samajwadiparty)
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav asked people to ‘cleanse’ the BJP as he filed his nomination papers from Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday.
Yadav filed the nomination in the presence of party leaders including Ram Gopal Yadav.
The SP chief replaced his cousin Tej Pratap Yadav, days after the latter was announced as the party candidate from Kannauj.
Speaking to reporters after filing his nomination, Akhilesh promised to ensure development in the city.
“The people and party workers wanted me to contest from here as an SP candidate. I hope I will get the blessings of the people. When I came here for the first time after Netaji (his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav) asked me to From here, top leaders including Janeshwar Mishra, Amar Singh, Azam Khan and Netaji were present.”
Asked about some BJP leaders’ comments that the polls were a cricket match between India and Pakistan, Akhilesh said, “They will neither be able to throw a ball nor use the bat.”
“We will hit six with all six balls,” he said, urging people to “clean bowl” the BJP.
Akhilesh said the elections will put an end to the BJP’s ‘negative politics’ and in a reference to the city’s famous perfumes, he said the fragrance of Kannauj will spread again.
“I will work for the development of the city… Brotherhood and love will now spread from here,” he said.
When asked about the delay in announcing his candidacy, the SP chief said: “There is an old saying: strike while the iron is hot. I am here at the right time.”
On Monday, the SP had declared his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav as its candidate from Kannauj parliamentary seat, but on Wednesday he changed his decision.
Akhilesh said the work started by the SP in Kannauj had been stopped by the BJP government.
Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters that the SP will win the Kannauj seat by a huge margin. “The BJP candidate might lose his deposit on the seat,” he said.
Akhilesh had first won the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in 2000 and later represented it in 2004 and 2009.
The seat is currently represented by Subrat Pathak of the BJP, who had defeated SP candidate Dimple Yadav in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Pathak, who has been fielded by the BJP against Akhilesh, expressed confidence over the saffron party’s victory in Kannauj.
The BJP MP who visited a temple in Kannauj before filing his nomination papers said, “The battle will be tough but the BJP will win.”
Asserting that the BJP has done a lot for Kannauj, he said the city will be developed on the lines of Noida, Agra and Lucknow.
“We are working on setting up an industrial city near the highway and investments will come soon,” Pathak told PTI Videos.
BJP leader Aparna Yadav said that due to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s influence, some seats (with an overwhelming presence of Yadav and OBC voters) were considered safe for the SP, but the BJP has now changed the dynamics of those seats too.
The elections in Kannauj will be held in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 13.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: April 26, 2024 | 12:16 pm IST