The ruling Samajwadi Party will kickstart its campaign for the 2017 Assembly polls with a mega rally in Azamgarh - the Parliamentary constituency of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on October 7.
Mulayam Singh Yadav along with the entire SP brass including Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav ( the state SP chief) and Ramgopal Yad will be present in the rally to showcase a united Yadav clan. For the 2012 Assembly polls and 2014 lok Sabha elections too, the SP had launched its poll campaign from Azamgarh.
“Netaji (Mulayam) will be addressing a massive rally in his lok Sabha constituency on October 7. The rally will mark the start of SP’s campaign for the 2017 polls,” said party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary in lucknow on Monday.
SP sources said that the party considered the idea to launch its poll campaign from Varanasi - the lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The party however dropped the idea as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had already held a road show in the city and Amit Shah had also attended a rally organised by the Apna Dal ( a BJP ally). Moreover Bihar chief minister and JD (U) chief had also addressed a couple of rallies in Varanasi and nearby areas like Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Sonebhadra and Allahabad.
Mulayam’s decision to start the campaign from eastern UP is significant as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi too is set to kick off his ‘Kisan Yatra’ from Deoria on Tuesday.
BSP chief Mayawati, too, had addressed a rally in Azamgarh on August 28 where she raised the issue of a separate state of Poorvanchal. The district has sizeable Muslim population. Besides, Mayawati held a rally in Allahabad on Sunday, which is also considered part of eastern UP.
The BJP too had organised its national executive meet in Allahabad in June and the PM had addressed a rally there. The party has announced that it would contest Assembly polls in alliance with Apna Dal and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party — both based in eastern UP.
SP sources said that Mulayam Singh Yadav is slated to address 18 public meetings - one each in all 18 divisions of the state. This will be besides the Kranti Rath yatra to be led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Earlier this year, addressing a public meeting in Azamgarh, Mulayam Singh Yadav had described the district as auspicious for his party. He claimed that whenever he started his campaign from there, the party emerged victorious in the polls. Interestingly, this time all major political players are focusing on Poorvanchal, probably with an eye on the Muslim vote bank in the region.