Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav files nomination papers from Kannauj

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav asked people to "clean bowled" the BJP as he filed his nomination papers from Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday.

Yadav filed the nomination in the presence of party leaders, including Ram Gopal Yadav.

The SP chief replaced his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav, days after the latter was announced as the party's candidate from Kannauj.

Talking to reporters after filing his nomination, Akhilesh promised to ensure development in the city.

"The people and party workers wanted me to contest from here as SP candidate. I hope I will get the blessings of the people. When I came here for the first time after Netaji (his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav) asked me to contest from here, top leaders, including Janeshwar Mishra, Amar Singh, Azam Khan, Netaji were there."

Asked about some BJP leaders' reported comments that the polls were a cricket match between India and Pakistan, Akhilesh said, "They will not be able to throw a ball nor be able to use the bat."

"We will hit six on all the six balls," he said, urging people to "clean bowled" the BJP.

 

Akhilesh said the election will end the "negative politics" of the BJP, and in a reference to the city's famous perfumes, said the fragrance of Kannauj will spread again.

"I will work for the development of the city... Brotherhood and love will now spread from here," he said.

When asked about the delay in the announcement of his candidature, the SP chief said, "There is an old saying: Strike the iron when it is hot. I am here at the right time."

On Monday, the SP had declared his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav as its candidate from the Kannauj parliamentary seat but changed its decision on Wednesday.

Akhilesh said that the works that the SP began in Kannauj were stopped by the BJP government.

Speaking to reporters, party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said the SP will win the Kannauj seat with a huge margin. "The BJP candidate might lose his deposit in the seat," he said.

Akhilesh had won the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat first in 2000 and later represented it in 2004 and 2009.

The seat is presently represented by BJP's Subrat Pathak, who had defeated SP candidate Dimple Yadav in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Pathak who has been fielded by the BJP against Akhilesh expressed confidence about the saffron party's win in Kannauj.

The BJP MP who visited a temple in Kannauj before filing his nomination papers said, "The fight is going to be tough but BJP will win it."

Asserting that the BJP has done a lot for Kannauj, he said the city will be developed on the lines of Noida, Agra and Lucknow.

"We are working on establishing an industrial city near the highway and soon investment will come," Pathak told PTI Videos.

BJP leader Aparna Yadav said due to Mulayam Singh Yadav's influence some seats (that have an overwhelming presence of Yadav and OBC voters) were considered safe for the SP, but the BJP has now changed the dynamics of those seats too.

Elections in Kannauj will be held in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 13.