With the Samajwadi Pary and Congress having sealed the seat sharing formula for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, it is now expected that UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will try to woo voters together.
Hindustan Times, in its report, cited Congress sources saying that the two young leaders are expected to address joint public meetings. It would be the first time that the two leaders would be seen together, sharing a public platform.
Uttar Pradesh will vote for its 403-member assembly in seven phases, of which the Congress will contest 105 seats and the Samajwadi Party 298 seats.
The Congress sources further claimed that the joint rallies will not aim at winning support but also send a signal that the alliance was for ‘real’ and the two parties were ‘serious’ about working together.
With just three weeks for the first rounds of polling, Yadav will launch his campaign from Sultanpur on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Congress vice-president will shift the focus back on Uttar Pradesh after his election tours of Punjab and Goa, which go to polls on February 4.
“The dates for the joint campaign would be finalised soon,” a Congress leader was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav, taking firm control as the SP President after a long family feud, will now concentrate on campaigning.
“The CM would be addressing two rallies, one in Sultanpur on Tuesday and another one in Lakhimpur on Wednesday,” party spokersperson Rajendra Chowdhary said.
“Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) will also campaign for the party, his itinerary is being drawn up and will be released soon,” he added.
After being ousted as the party chief by his son Akhilesh, Mulayam Singh stayed away from the function in which the party’s manifesto was released.
“The two parties would soon discuss the campaign strategy,” said Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader and party’s UP in-charge.
“Winning the election and forming the government are not the only aim of the two parties. Our main motto is to keep the communal forces at bay and maintain peace in the state,” he said.
