Amidst intense speculations over a possible alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is set to start a 50-km cycle yatra from Kannauj to launch the campaign for 2019 lok Sabha poll.
The cycle yatra will be flagged off by ‘demonetisation baby’ named Khajanchi by Akhilesh himself when he was the Chief Minister of UP, during the days of demonetisation on November 8, 2016.
Sources in the SP said that the yatra was scheduled for early next month but the date was yet to be finalised.
The cycle yatra will culminate at a stretch of Agra-lucknow Expressway, which witnessed the touchdown of Indian Air Force fighter jets during an air show held to mark the expressway’s inauguration in November, 2016. Khajanchi’s family will also be present at the culmination point.
Akhilesh had recently announced that he would be contesting the lok Sabha election from Kannauj, the constituency which is presently represented by wife Dimple Yadav.
As preparation for the 2019 lok Sabha polls, Akhilesh has announced that he will take out a cycle rally every month to different parts of the state.
The SP chief said that the aim was to reach out to the people in every nook and corner and highlight the failures of the Narendra Modi government.
Samajwadi Party MlC Sunil Singh Sajan said, “Our goal is to have a cycle yatra in every district of the state till the lok Sabha elections. Starting from one district, the cycle yatra will end in another district.
“During this time, problems of that district, and work done by SP government will be conveyed to the people. This time, the cycle yatra will cover more than 10,000 km,” he said.
In 2012, after Samajwadi Party came to power, Akhilesh had led a similar cycle rally covering 10,000 km.
The Samajwadi Party is upbeat after wresting Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana lok Sabha seats and Noorpur Assemble seat in UP in the by-elections.
Meanwhile, along with Madhya Pradesh, the SP has stepped up its efforts for expanding the party base in Bihar.
Party cadre on Friday took out a cycle rally in Patna, dubbed as ‘Akrosh March’, to highlight alleged failures of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar. It was led by SP Bihar in-charge Devendra Prasad Yadav.
Yadav accused Bihar and Central governments of cheating farmers by raising revenue tax on cultivable land to Rs 1,000. He further said that the Modi government had failed to keep its promise of doubling farmers’ income.