Akhilesh Yadav to contest from UP's Kannauj; nomination likely to be filed tomorrow

Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from Uttar Pradesh’s Kannauj seat, confirmed Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav. The Samajwadi Party chief is expected to file his nomination tomorrow. 

Speaking to India Today TV, Ram Gopal Yadav said that there is no confusion regarding Akhilesh Yadav's candidate from the seat.

Earlier in the day, when he was asked about the speculations on his nomination, Yadav said, “When nomination happens then you will come to know. The question is of Kannauj's historic victory...The people have made up their minds that the INDIA Alliance is coming as the future and BJP will be history in this election…”

The SP leader’s statement comes just days after the party declared Tej Pratap Yadav as the candidate from Kannauj. There were also reports of a local party unit urging the former Uttar Pradesh CM to reconsider the decision of fielding his nephew from the Samajwadi Party bastion till 2019. According to an India Today report, SP workers in Kannauj were not ready to accept Tej Pratap's candidacy, and believed that without Akhilesh Yadav, the BJP would have an edge over them. 

Akhilesh Yadav had then said that he would do what the party decides. 

Tej Paratap Singh Yadav, grand-nephew of late Mulayam Singh Yadav and son-in-law of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, represented the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat from 2014-19. In 2014, Mulayam Singh Yadav contested from Azamgarh and Mainpuri and won both of them but later left the Mainpuri seat where Tej Pratap Singh Yadav was fielded. 

BJP MP Subrat Pathak won the Kannauj seat in 2019 polls, and had stated that it is no longer an SP stronghold.