Akhilesh Yadav To Contest Kannauj Lok Sabha Seat, Confirms Samajwadi Party Leader
A statement by Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav to India Today TV confirmed that Akhilesh Yadav will officially submit his nomination for the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat on Thursday. He emphasized that there is no ambiguity regarding the Samajwadi Party's candidate selection for the constituency.
This announcement follows recent confusion within the party, as just days ago, Tej Pratap Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav's nephew, was declared as the candidate for Kannauj by the Samajwadi Party. However, Ram Gopal Yadav clarified that Akhilesh Yadav himself will be contesting from the seat.
When questioned about the speculation surrounding his candidacy in Kannauj, Akhilesh Yadav responded, "You will know when the nomination happens. The significance lies in Kannauj's historical victory."
Akhilesh Yadav, who previously served as the Lok Sabha MP from 2000 to 2012, resigned from the Kannauj parliamentary seat in 2012 upon assuming the role of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Despite his party's failure to form a government in UP in 2017, Yadav was elected as a Lok Sabha MP in 2019 and subsequently secured a seat in the UP Assembly in 2022. Following the UP Assembly polls, he resigned as a Lok Sabha MP but retained his state assembly seat.
Recent reports indicated dissatisfaction among Samajwadi Party workers in Kannauj over Tej Pratap's candidacy, with some believing that the BJP would gain an advantage if Akhilesh Yadav did not contest from Kannauj. The seat, historically held by the Samajwadi Party, was won by BJP MP Subrat Pathak in the 2019 polls.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Pathak asserted that Kannauj is no longer a stronghold for the Samajwadi Party following his victory in 2019. He expressed a preference for Akhilesh Yadav's candidacy, citing diminished enthusiasm with Tej Pratap's nomination.
However, Ram Gopal Yadav has now confirmed that Akhilesh Yadav will officially file his nomination from the Kannauj seat at 12 pm on Thursday.