UP: Akhilesh likely to contest 2017 polls from Kannauj - Hindustan Times
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UP: Akhilesh likely to contest 2017 polls from Kannauj

Hindustan Times | By, Lucknow
Apr 13, 2016 05:09 PM IST

UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is likely to contest the 2017 UP elections from one of the assembly segments of Kannauj – the parliamentary constituency of his wife Dimple Yadav.

UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is likely to contest the 2017 UP elections from one of the assembly segments of Kannauj – the parliamentary constituency of his wife Dimple Yadav.

UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is likely to contest the 2017 UP elections from one of the assembly segments of Kannauj .(PTI Photo)
UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is likely to contest the 2017 UP elections from one of the assembly segments of Kannauj .(PTI Photo)

If Akhilesh decides to enter the poll fray, it would be his first assembly elections as a contestant. He is currently an MLC (member of legislative council) and earlier had been a member of parliament thrice – each time from Kannauj.

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A party source indicated that top party leaders were mulling the idea and a Kannauj constituency could be a “natural choice”.

Akhilesh began his electoral politics in 2000 when he contested and won the by-election from Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency. He followed it up with two successive victories in parliamentary elections from the same place till he became chief minister and resigned from the seat. Dimple later bagged the seat.

Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency has five assembly segments, which are currently with the Samajwadi Party. Kannauj (main) is a reserved constituency.

“Though we have not been asked or told about any such decision, but if it happens we would be more than happy to have him as a candidate here. If he contests from a seat in Kannauj, it would not only have a positive effect for the party in Kannauj but also in Farrukhabad, Hardoi and Kanpur Dehat,” said Kannauj district president of the party Mazhar-ul-Haq.

Although Akhilesh has been nurturing the constituency since 2000, the pace of work in the district intensified after he became chief minister in 2012. Besides he and Dimple have undertaken numerous visits to the district indicating to the importance they give to the place.

Since 2012 Akhilesh (alone or with Dimple) made seven visits and Dimple made two visits to the town on her own. Each time they went there with bouquets of projects – inaugurations, foundation laying etc - just the way the couple did on Tuesday.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Pankaj Jaiswal is Chief of Bureau, Uttar Pradesh and covers politics. His continued interest in rural, distress, and development journalism, fetched him a handful of prestigious awards and fellowships. Pankaj is a photo-journalist too and tweets at @augustus29lotus

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