Apparently vindicating the charges by his former ally Om Prakash Rajbhar of Suheldeo Bhartiya Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has hit the ground running in Mainpuri where his wife Dimple Yadav is the party candidate for the Lok Sabha bypoll.
Akhilesh had stayed away from campaigning for the bypoll to Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha and Gola Gokarannath assembly seats. Rajbhar had alleged that Akhilesh would have campaigned had the candidates been from his caste.
Akhilesh’s decision to stay away from his party’s campaign in Rampur and Azamgarh in June and Gola Gokarannath earlier this month was said to be one of the reasons for the party’s defeats. Rampur and Azamgarh, considered the party’s strongholds, were wrested by the BJP.
Now, with his wife Dimple contesting the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, necessitated by the death of his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh is back on the campaign trail and has been touring Mainpuri for the past 10 days. The SP chief is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that his family holds on to the seat that his father won five times.
SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary, however, defended the absence of party president in Rampur and Azamgarh. “Local SP units and other senior leaders in Azamgarh and Rampur had assured Akhilesh that the party would easily win the elections and that he was not required to campaign there. Now, the party does not want to take any chances in Mainpuri because it is an election of prestige. This was the seat of Netaji (Mulayam) and Dimple ji is contesting there. BJP can misuse government machinery and use other tactics in this bypoll. Hence, Akhilesh ji is campaigning in Mainpuri. Akhilesh Yadav may also campaign in Rampur and Khatauli assembly seats if the local party units ask for it,” Chaudhary said.
For the last over ten days, Akhilesh Yadav has been spearheading the campaigning in Mainpuri. He has assigned the responsibility of election management to SP state president Naresh Uttam but chairs meetings with workers and reviews the party’s canvassing efforts on a daily basis,” a local SP leader said.
The Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat has five assembly segments — Mainpuri, Bhogaon, Kishani, Karhal, and Jaswantnagar. Of these, the BJP won Mainpuri and Bhogaon in the assembly polls earlier this year, while the SP chief himself won from Karhal and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav from Jaswantnagar.
SP sources said Akhilesh is concentrating on the two assembly segments that the BJP holds. “After public meetings and workers’ meetings in different areas, Akhilesh ensures that he meets local people for direct communication with them in the Mainpuri Sadar area daily,” a Samajwadi Party leader said.
The SP chief and his wife have been joined by Shivpal, with whom Akhilesh has not been on the best of terms for over the last five years. The first family of the Samajwadi Party is, however, putting a united front to retain control of their citadel. On Sunday, Akhilesh and Shivpal formally announced that they were ahead of the Lok Sabha bypoll.
In the past, Jaswantnagar and Karhal, dominated by the Yadav voters, have contributed the most to the SP’s victories in Lok Sabha polls.
The SP president has been touring different assembly segments every day with Dimple to reach out to voters. On Monday, he visited an ashram to seek the blessings of Swami Hariharanand Saraswati and had food at the ‘bhandara’ (feast). He also addressed a public meeting with Shivpal in Jaswantnagar. Shivpal has been addressing public meetings in Jaswantnagar. At a rally on Monday, he said he would never disappoint Akhilesh. He also requested his nephew to recognise his “capabilities”.
Dimple has addressed meetings in Kishani, having started her campaign by meeting the SP’s women workers. She is focusing on touring rural areas and holding meetings with villagers in small groups.
