SP, BJP locked in intense fight in six Yadav strongholds

WITH Yadav land being the main battleground in Uttar Pradesh in phase-III, the Samajwadi Party is leaving no stone unturned to save its citadel from saffron onslaught, while the BJP is also creating a furore through its big fighters.

- NAMITA BAJPAI

Mainpuri, Firozabad, Etah, Baduan, of Phase III and Kannauj and Etawah, of next phase on May 13, are set for a fierce fight between the ruling party and the main opposition.

Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav himself is commanding the fort in Kannauj against sitting BJP MP Subrat Pathak.

While in Mainpuri, the SP chief's wife Dimple Yadav is ready to carry Mulayam Singh Yadav's legacy forward by challenging state tourism minister and BJP candidate Jaiveer Singh who is a sitting MLA from Mainpuri assembly segment. Akshay Yadav, Akhilesh's cousin and SP national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav's son, is again trying his fate from Firozabad seat, another bastion of SP against Vishwadeep Singh. Akshay had lost the seat to BJP's Chandrasen Jadon in 2019.