Two political scions are leaving no stone unturned to protect their family turfs in the all-crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. Going purely by the renewed push and extensive campaigning across Kannauj and Rae Bareli, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appear determined to trump their opponents in the high-stakes contest.
Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav will reportedly address an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj on May 10.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting against BJP candidate Subrat Pathak, whereas Rahul Gandhi is up against BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh.
Akhilesh's attempt to win back family fortress from BJP
The Samajwadi Party had held the Kannuj Lok Sabha seat since 1998, but lost it to the BJP's Subrat Pathak in 2019, when the state gave a resounding mandate to the saffron party as Prime Minister Narendra sought a second consecutive term to enable the BJP-led dispensation to continue its policies.
The Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency was breached by the BJP in 2019, when Subrat Pathak won by a margin of about 12,000 votes, narrowly defeating Dimple Yadav, wife of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The saffron party had won 62 constituencies in the state in 2019, when the Samajwadi Party was in an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Akhilesh Yadav has won from the Kannauj constituency - which was also held by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav before him - thrice and held it from 2000 to 2012, when he vacated it after becoming chief minister.
His wife, Dimple Yadav, was then elected unopposed in a bypoll and won the seat again in 2014, before losing to Subrat Pathak in 2019.
A quick recap of SP 's poll breakup for 2024
The socialist party is contesting in 63 Lok Sabha seats. Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh, is the party candidate in Mainpuri, while Akhilesh’s cousins Dharmendra Yadav, Akshay Yadav and Aditya Yadav are contesting from Azamgarh, Firozabad and Badaun respectively.
Rahul Gandhi's fight to retain Gandhi home turf
Congress' last minute declaration naming Rahul Gandhi as the party's pick to represent the Gandhi home turf has added to the poll excitement in this high-stakes seat.
Though Gandhi is already contesting from Kerala, he was widely expected to run from a seat in the politically significant state of Uttar Pradesh.
The expectation was that he would choose his former seat Amethi, which he had lost in the 2019 election to BJP' Smriti Irani and had promised to regain.
Rae Bareli was won by Rahul Gandhi's mother Sonia Gandhi from 2004 to 2019 and is a long-standing bastion of the Gandhi family.
She contested the 2019 general elections from Rae Bareli and defeated Bharatiya Janata Party's Dinesh Pratap Singh by a margin of over 1.6 lakh votes. However, her victory margin came down by 13 per cent as compared to 2014.
Amethi and Rae Bareli -- two constituencies considered old turfs of the Gandhi family has again become the point of focus as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has entered the fray in Rae Bareli and the family's close aide Kishori Lal Sharma has been fielded against Smriti Irani in Amethi.
Congress, which heads the Opposition coalition – INDIA – has agreed to contest 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh (UP) – one of the key states deciding the outcome of the elections.
Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Rae Bareli instead of Amethi, a seat long associated with the Gandhis, underscores the party's strategy.
Despite losing Amethi by almost 50,000 votes to Smriti Irani in 2019, the party believes Rae Bareli's historical and emotional significance for the Gandhi family makes it a better choice for Rahul.
Can Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi make a statement by emerging victorious? Or BJP will have the last 'electoral' laugh? We will have to wait until 4 June when the results are declared.
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