Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad will start his campaign for Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on February 8.
He will seek support for his son-in-law Rahul Yadav, a Samajwadi Party (SP) nominee from Sikandrabad constituency in Bulandshaher district of the state. Rahul is married to Prasad’s fourth daughter Ragini and is the son of Congress leader Jitendra Yadav, a former SP MLA. The first phase of election in 73 assembly constituencies of UP will be held on February 11.
“I will address three election meetings at Sikandrabad on February 8,” Prasad said, adding that his campaign schedule for the second leg of polls would be finalised by SP president and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
The RJD strongman downplayed speculations doing the round over a political realignment following chief minister Nitish Kumar’s brush with the canvas at the Patna Book Fair on Saturday where he painted a lotus drawing in Madhubani style by Padma Shri Baua Devi in ‘red’ colour.
“Nitish has changed the colour of lotus,” he said, implying there was no love lost between Kumar and BJP as the latter’s party poll symbol was in saffron colour.
The RJD has not fielded any candidate in UP assembly polls and will support the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in a move aimed at cornering the BJP-led alliance in the multi-cornered election.
“BJP will bite the dust in UP polls and fare badly in Punjab and Goa too. There will be an Akhilesh-led government in Uttar Pradesh,” he said, while talking to newspersons at his residence here on Sunday. He also took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to fulfill his poll promises and putting millions to inconvenience with the currency recall decision.
{{/usCountry}}“BJP will bite the dust in UP polls and fare badly in Punjab and Goa too. There will be an Akhilesh-led government in Uttar Pradesh,” he said, while talking to newspersons at his residence here on Sunday. He also took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to fulfill his poll promises and putting millions to inconvenience with the currency recall decision.
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