Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi party chairman Akhilesh Yadav will stand in the 2022 UP parliamentary elections, news agency ANI quoted sources as saying. In November last year, Akhilesh is believed to have said he would not stand in the election. Congressman Azamgarh has never run in a state election – not in 2012 or 2017. In 2012, when he became the country’s youngest chief minister, he chose the Legislative Council route.
Akhilesh’s constituency has yet to be determined. Some reports have suggested that he may play from two seats, one of which could be Azamgarh’s Gopalpur.
According to insiders, pressure has been put on Akhilesh as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will play in Gorakhpur. The addition of Mulayam Singh’s daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav to the BJP was another pressure point for the Samajwadi party, which apparently made Akhilesh change his mind. When Akhilesh reportedly said he would not run in parliamentary elections, his party said it would make the decision collectively. “BJP will be wiped out by Uttar Pradesh. The people of UP are with the Samajwadi party. Whether Akhilesh Yadav will run in the parliamentary elections will be up to the party. decision,” Aashish Yadav said at the time. Voltage UP elections have reached fever pitch as war of words between BJP and Samajwadi parties. After the BJP announced CM Adityanath’s name from Gorakhpur, Akhilesh said the central leadership had dispatched him from Gorakhpur to send him home. “But where did Akhilesh Yadav campaign from? Why not announce it?” Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur, the BJP’s co-head of Uttar Pradesh elections, commented recently.
Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal has announced an alliance for parliamentary elections, while the Nationalist Congress Party has announced that it will join forces with SP for elections in Uttar Pradesh and Goa. The Trinamool assembly said it would not run for the UP but would support Akhilesh’s party, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also running for the Samajwadi party.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
