In a bid to set its house in order ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the opposition Samajwadi party is desperate to settle the issue of Lok Sabha seats to be contested by the members of the first family of the party.
SP President Akhilesh Yadav is likely to re enter the Lok Sabha from Kanauj parliamentary constituency presently represented by his wife Dimple Yadav. Akhilesh Yadav made debut in politics in 1999 by winning his first election from Kanauj Lok Sabha seat. Presently Akhilesh Yadav is the Member of the Legislative council and his term is upper house of the state Legislature ends on may 5 this year.
Presently SP has five MPs in Lok Sabha and all are from the first family of the party. They include Mulayam Singh Yadav (Azamgarh), his daughter in law Dimple Yadav (Kannauj) his grandson Tejpratap Yadav (Mainpuri) his nephew Dharmendra Yadav (Badaun) and his nephew Akshay Kumar (Ferozabad).
Former national president and SP’s patron Mulayam Singh Yadav is all set to desert the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat and return to his traditional Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat. With MUlayam Singh deciding to return to Mainpuri, the fate of the sitting MP and his grandson Tejpratap Yadav is uncertain.
Samajwadi party sources said Akhilesh Yadav is certain to contest from Kannauj Lok Sabha as he wants to be identified as Rs serious player’ in national politics like his father. It may be recalled that soon after the remark by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi on dynasty politics during his USA trip in 2017, Akhilesh Yadav had announced the retirement of his wife dimple Yadav from politics and he had also said that he would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Kannauj.
Akhilesh Yadav had contested and won from Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in 1999, 2004 and 2009, in 2009 he had also contested and won from the Ferozabad Lok Sabha seat. Akhilesh Yadav had vacated the Ferozabad Lok Sabha seat and retained Kannauj seat. In the ensuing by election in October 2019 his wife dimple Yadav made debut from Ferozabad Lok Sabha this seat and she lost the by election to the Raj Babbar of the Congress, presently the state president of the UP congress committee.
After March 2012 state assembly elections Akhilesh Yadav was chosen as the chief minister of the state by the Samajwadi party. He vacated the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat and his wife Dimple Yadav was elected unopposed to Lok Sabha from Kannauj seat. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections Dimple Yadav was re-elected to Lok Sabha from the Kanauj seat. Presently
Samajwadi party has already announced meeting here of the party leaders on January 8 to discuss the strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. SP has invited all the party MLAs, MLCs, MPs, all candidates for the 2017 state assembly elections and prominent leaders of the party including those from the front organisations of the party. The party leaders from those assembly constituencies have also been invited which the Samajwadi party has left for its coalition partner Congress in 2017 assembly elections. SP had left over 1210 seats for the congress and Congress could win only seven seats.