With the possibility of lok Sabha elections be held earlier all political parties in Uttar Pradesh have started preparation with parties like Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress holding regular conferences, training camps of workers and meetings while Samajwadi Party has increased its interaction with the people.
Bahujan Samaj Party which drew a blank in the 2014 polls is set to launch its campaign from April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar.
BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said that the party is going ahead with its preparation for the lok Sabha polls. “We are in no hurry as the BJP is ahead in its preparation in comparison to other political parties in the state,” he said.
On the other hand Congress is holding ‘Kisan yatra’ to woo farmers. Congress spokesperson Virendra Madan said the Congress party was the only alternative to the BJP in the state and people are well aware of it.
“The failures of the Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath governments has given us an edge in the coming lok Sabha polls, which is expected to be held in November this year,” he added.
Samajwadi Party has decided to field its general secretary Ramgopal Yadav from Sambhal constituency in the coming polls. Presently, he is leader of the party in Rajya Sabha and his term ends in 2020 November. SP president Akhilesh Yadav had also announced that his father Mulayam Singh Yadav will contest from Mainpuri.
Akhilesh announced that he would contest the next lok Sabha election from Kannauj. Presently Akhilesh’ wife, Dimple Yadav is the sitting MP from Kannauj. In 2014, Dimple had defeated the nearest BJP rival by just 20,000 votes.
A senior SP leader said that drawing lessons from 2014 lok Sabha and 2017 Assembly elections the Samajwadi Party wants to set its house in order and send clear signal to the electorate about firming up its traditional social coalition of Yadav and Muslims.
The SP has already initiated the process of inviting applications from prospective candidates for the 2019 lok Sabha elections.
SP has five members in lok Sabha—all from the Yadav clan. While Mainpuri and Kannauj are traditional SP seats, Ferozabad is held by Akshay Yadav (Ram Gopal Yadav’s son), Azamgarh by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Budaun by Dharmendra Yadav (Mulayam’s nephew).