Akhilesh hints at fielding candidates in Raebareli, Amethi in 2024 LS polls

In what is being perceived as a huge blow to the prospects of a united opposition against BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has hinted that his party is considering to field its candidates from Raebareli, former Congress president president Sonia Gandhi's parliamentary constituency, and Amethi, represented by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi until his defeat in 2019 LS polls, in the next year's general elections.

According to the sources in the SP, the local leaders in Raebareli and Amethi had been asked to start preparing for the next LS polls as the party was contemplating contesting the two seats along with others in the state.

Akhilesh, who visited Unchahar, one of the assembly segments in Raebareli LS constituency, on Monday, said that his party would contest from all the 80 LS seats in the state in alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

Also Read | Akhilesh sets eyes on Mayawati's 'Dalit' vote bank through Kanshiram

Akhilesh had, first dropped the hints that he was in no mood to give a walk over to Sonia and Rahul in Raebareli and Amethi during the recent meeting of the SP national executive at Kolkata. ''SP workers in Raebareli and Amethi feel that the Congress does not lend support to them when they are persecuted by the administration though they work for the victory of the Congress leaders in the LS polls,'' Akhilesh had then said.

Akhilesh had, however, added that a final decision in this regard would be taken after consulting the local leaders in the two LS constituencies.

There had been an understanding between the SP and the Congress not to field their candidates from the constituencies from where members of the Gandhi family or SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's family members were in the fray. Hence while the SP did not put up its nominees from Raebareli and Amethi, the grand old party also reciprocated by not fielding its nominees from Mainpuri (Mulayam's seat),, Kannauj (Akhilesh's wife Dimple Yadav contested from here in 2019) and Azamgarh (Akhilesh had contested from here in 2019).

Sources said that there was a feeling in the SP that Congress had been losing ground to the BJP in Raebareli and Amethi. ''We can put up a better fight there,'' remarked an SP leader in Amethi.

UP Congress leaders, however, sought to play down Akhilesh's comments saying that the next LS polls were still a good one year away and things could change during the period. ''Our target is BJP and we sincerely hope that Akhilesh will keep it in mind,'' a senior state Congress leader said.

Akhilesh had earlier categorically ruled out any kind of understanding with the Congress in UP in the next LS polls. ''We are not going to form an electoral alliance with Rahul Gandhi....we will go to the polls with our existing alliance,'' the SP president had said when queried about a possible electoral alliance with the Congress in 2024.

Akhilesh had also kept away from Rahul's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in the state despite being invited by the Congress. SP leaders had then told DH that Congress was not a major political player in UP and therefore they did not want to be seen to be led by the grand old party in the state.