As high decibel campaigning in Uttar Pradesh has intensified further after two phases of polling, an interesting picture emerged from Etawah where Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav were seen together on the campaign trail for the first time after more than five years.
The trio was last spotted together in public in October 2016 to flag off "Samajwadi Vikas Rath" in Lucknow ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections.
In 2016, Akhilesh had shown the Samajwadi Party's exit door to his uncle Shivpal due to a family dispute. Shivpal later formed his own party Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya). However, the PSP had failed to win a single seat in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.Shivpal Singh Yadav's party is now part of the alliance led by Akhilesh Yadav.
The rift between Akhilesh and Shivpal had officially ended last year as they decided to join hands to oust the BJP government in the state. However, since then both leaders were never seen together sharing a stage.
In Etawah, once considered a bastion of the SP, both Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal not only shared a stage but have also acknowledged each other. Akhilesh said, "Uncle's (Shivpal Singh Yadav) return will strengthen our power in upcoming Assembly elections and will help us defeat the BJP in UP polls."
On Thursday, Samajwadi Party's "Samajwadi Vijay Rath" was started from Lion Safari, Etawah. During the movement of 'rath', Shivpal and Mulayam Singh Yadav campaigned for Samajwadi Party and its alliance.
Mulayam also held a rally in the Karhal constituency in the Mainpuri district where Akhilesh Yadav is contesting his maiden Assembly election.
As polling for the two phases has ended on February 10 and 14, voting for the remaining five phases will take place on February 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
In the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 312 seats out of the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly while Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress could manage to win only seven seats. The rest of the seats were bagged by other candidates.
( With inputs from ANI )
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