Upon the efficacious amalgamation rally of the INDIA bloc in Amroha on April 20, the collaborative spirits of “UP Ke Ladke” Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav will be prominently showcased in the esteemed Kannauj parliamentary constituency in the forthcoming week.
“Ascertaining a conjoined convocation, scheduled addresses by Rahul Gandhi, alongside Akhilesh Yadav in Kannauj, are underway. A mutually convenient date for both dignitaries is in deliberation. The civic assembly may transpire either on the 10th or 11th of May,” elucidated a senior AICC official.
The electoral ballot in Kannauj is slated for May 13. “UP Ke Ladke” or “The Boys of UP” attained resonance during the 2017 provincial legislative polls, a time of pre-electoral collaboration between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. Back then, both Rahul and Akhilesh, the erstwhile Chief Minister of UP, campaigned in unison across the state, albeit the coalition bore minimal fruits in actuality.
Insiders apprise that subsequent to Kannauj, the duo will extend their electoral outreach to Kanpur, Barabanki, Mohanlalganj, and Sitapur Lok Sabha precincts.
The strategists within the Congress are sanguine regarding the altered landscape in the state, believing that the synergistic alliance between Rahul and Akhilesh for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections could potentially tilt the scales in favor of the two opposition factions arrayed against the BJP and its affiliates.
While the joint rally in Amroha rallied behind Congress nominee Danish Ali, who transitioned to the grand old party from the erstwhile BSP led by Mayawati, SP luminary Akhilesh Yadav braces himself against BJP incumbent MP Subrat Pathak in Kannauj, renowned for its longstanding fragrance industry.
Akhilesh’s foray into the Kannauj electoral fray was laden with theatrical flair. Initially, the SP leader nominated his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav for the seat, only to pivot swiftly as aggrieved party adherents contended that none but Akhilesh Yadav could vanquish the BJP in this bastion, held since 1998.
Akhilesh Yadav previously represented Kannauj in the Lok Sabha from 2000 to 2012 before relinquishing the constituency to ascend as Chief Minister. In the same vein, his spouse Dimple Yadav clinched the seat in by-polls that year, subsequently securing it again in the 2014 national elections. However, in the preceding 2019 national polls, BJP’s Subrat Pathak narrowly edged out SP’s Dimple Yadav by a margin of a mere 12,000 votes.
In a bygone era, Akhilesh’s patriarch and former Chief Minister, the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, held sway over the Kannauj parliamentary realm. Mirroring Akhilesh Yadav’s bid, Rahul Gandhi has also thrown his hat into the UP arena, emerging as the Congress contender for the prestigious Rae Bareli seat vacated by his mother Sonia Gandhi, now a distinguished Rajya Sabha member. Rahul finds himself in contention against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh.
“Rahul’s nomination for Rae Bareli adheres to Congress’s time-honored tradition. This decision is poised to invigorate the Congress’s electoral momentum across the state,” asserted Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari. “The collaborative mobilization of the INDIA bloc is proceeding apace. The Amroha rally garnered significant traction, and likewise shall be the forthcoming assembly in Kannauj,” he added.
In consonance with their electoral entente, the Congress and SP convened a coordination summit in Amethi, a constituency that Rahul represented in the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2019. This electoral cycle, the mantle of defending the Amethi seat against BJP’s incumbent MP Smriti Irani falls upon the stalwart of the Gandhi family, KL Sharma. Concurrently, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has pledged his support to the Congress contenders in both Amethi and Rae Bareli.
