Akhilesh Yadav likely to contest UP election
Akhilesh Yadav, after much dilly-dallying, has decided to contest the Uttar Pradesh election, sources said today. He had earlier said he would not contest the polls and would prefer to focus on every seat in the state.
Akhilesh Yadav is the Lok Sabha MP from Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh and has never contest a state election. His seat has not been decided yet, sources say.
Sources said the pressure was on the Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister after the BJP’s Yogi Adityanath, the incumbent Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, decided to contest the state polls for the first time.
Yogi Adityanath will contest from Gorakhpur Sadar in eastern UP and the BJP assesses big gains in this region by fielding the priest-politician, who is the head of the influential Gorakhpur Mutt.
According to sources, Akhilesh Yadav may pick a seat either from eastern UP or a central constituency like the high-profile Lucknow. Contesting from more than one seat is also on the table.