Mulayam to contest from Azamgarh also

Posted on 18th Mar 2014 05:30 am by admin

Lucknow, March 18 (IANS) Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will be contesting from two constituencies in the Lok Sabha polls - Mainpuri and Azamgarh.

Announcing Mulayam Singh's candidature from Azamgarh, party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said this was done on "popular demand".

Party insiders, however, admitted that the rethink was forced by the candidature of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi.

Party strategists were worried that Modi contesting from Varanasi could have a cascading effect on neighbouring seats, and hence pitting Mulayam from Azamgarh, a predominantly Muslim-Yadav constituency, was the best bet to stave off any Modi effect, a party leader told IANS.

Another party leader said the Samajwadi Party would also like to woo the Other Backward Classes, which account for over 35 percent of votes in the region.

Mulayam Singh is re-contesting from Mainpuri, the family pocketborough in central Uttar Pradesh, which has twice sent him to the Lok Sabha.

The Samajwadi Party has 22 members in the current Lok Sabha while the BJP has 10 from the state. BJP national president Rajnath Singh is also contesting from Uttar Pradesh.

Other news

IND vs NZ: Mohammed Shami revealed the secret of his explosive performance in the World Cup, special preparations were made by making a pitch at this place

Indian team's fast bowler Mohammed Shami played his first match in the World Cup 2023 on Sunday a

Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Two bodies were found a day after the bridge collapse; Officer said – the ship's crew is helping in the investigation

A search operation is underway in the Patapsco River after a bridge collapsed in Baltimore city o

Meet with Modi is Mamata's 'ghar wapsi': CPI-M

Kolkata, March 8 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Sunday described West B

President refrains from voting

New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee Saturday visited the polling station in Rash

Adani Row: The group denied the allegations against Gautam-Sagar Adani; and said - there is no allegation of violation of FCPA in the US court

The Adani Group has completely rejected the allegations against well-known businessman and billio

Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Sunil Lahiri hurt by the neglect of 'Laxman', said, there will be some grace of Ram in this too

Ever since the list of invitees for the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple built at Shri Ram

Issues related to defence personnel important: Rahul

Tanda (Himachal Pradesh), March 20 (IANS) Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Thursday said is

IIM Ahmedabad Placement: Summer placement of IIM Ahmedabad concluded, 146 companies participated, and 396 students selected

IIM Ahmedabad Placement: The summer placement process for MBA Class 2024 of the Post Graduate Pro

President election increased tension: BJP alert due to KCR-Nitish's activity, churning between Shah-Nadda till late night regarding the strategy of victory

Before the presidential election, the BJP has been alerted by the activities of Telangana CM K Ch

Steps taken to reduce congestion at Delhi Airport, know important things now before traveling

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Monday said several steps, including the opening of two additional