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SP, RLD to tie up; no clarity if Akhilesh Yadav will contest poll
A former chief minister, Yadav has never contested an assembly election and is currently the member of Parliament from Azamgarh
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Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav announced on Monday an alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal for the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh was final but added that he will not be contesting the polls scheduled early next year.
Hours after, an SP spokesperson appeared to walk back his comment, saying that the party was yet to decide on Yadav’s candidature. A former chief minister, Yadav has never contested an assembly election and is currently the member of Parliament from Azamgarh.
“Our alliance with RLD is final. Seat sharing is to be finalised,” he told PTI in an interview.
RLD, led by Jayant Chaudhary, is traditionally strong in the western UP region and draws its support from the Jat and Muslim farmers who dominate the region. Both parties oppose three central farm laws and have organised joint events.
RLD said that its alliance talks with the SP were in the final stages. The two parties contested the 2017 assembly elections together, and all subsequent polls.
“Yes, our alliance talks are in the final stages and soon the alliance will be announced,” said Anil Dubey, RLD national general secretary.
On October 20, the SP announced an alliance with Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and a few smaller parties, including the Mahan Dal. SBSP, which draws its strength from Backward Classescommunity in eastern UP, was an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party but walked out in in May 2019, soon after the Lok Sabha polls complaining about ignoring the Backward Classes.
But confusion reigned on Yadav’s possible candidature for the high-stakes polls.
“So far as the matter of the SP national president contesting the 2022 UP assembly election himself is concerned, the Samajwadi Party will take the final decision and it will soon announce the decision. In the Samajwadi Party, the candidates’ selection process is already on. Akhilesh Yadav and the party are shortlisting all the ticket seekers. The scrutiny process is on,” said party state spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary.
Yadav began his electoral career with a victory in the Lok Sabha bypoll in 2000 for the Kannauj seat, and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009.
Even after becoming the Uttar Pradesh chief minister in 2012, Yadav did not contest an assembly bypoll. Instead, he entered the state legislature through the legislative council and vacated his Lok Sabha seat.
In 2019, Akhilesh became an MP for the fourth time from Azamgarh.
