SP AIMS TO RECLAIM KANNAUJ AS IT FACES BJP INCUMBENT IN A FIGHT

SP aims to reclaim Kannauj stronghold; BJP counters with incumbent MP Subrat Pathak; issues include perfume industry, agriculture, infrastructure.

- RAHUL GAHLAWAT

With slogans such as “Band ho gye Kannauj ke Fatak, Bhaag nahi pa rhe Subrat Pathak” (the gates of Kannauj have closed and Subrat Pathak cannot run away) and “Kannauj ka Kona Kona de rha Sandesh, Record vote se jeet kr a rhe hai Akhilesh” (Akhilesh is winning Kannauj by a record margin), the Samajwadi Party (SP) is eyeing to regain its bastion Kannauj.

Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, SP party worker Pankaj Rai said Akhilesh Yadav’s entry into the political arena has sent a positive message within the party cadre, and SP will surprise everyone with its performance. Earlier, Tej Paratp Yadav was fielded as the party candidate but was soon replaced by SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav, as the party workers wanted Yadav to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Kannauj. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded its incumbent MP, Subrat Pathak, while the Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Akil Ahmed, who recently defected from SP.

Akhilesh Yadav succeeded his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and emerged victorious three times from Kannauj from 2000 to 2012, vacating it upon assuming the role of chief minister. Following his father’s departure, his wife, Dimple Yadav, won the by-poll unopposed and retained the seat in 2014. However, she lost to the BJP’s Subrat Pathak in the 2019 elections by a margin of 12,000 votes.