Suspense over whether SP chief will campaign continues

KAIRANA BYPOLLS Akhilesh may resort to press conferences, written appeals to reach out to voters instead of personally holding election meetings there

LUCKNOW: Although he figures on the Rashtriya Lok Dal’s (RLD) list of star campaigners, there is suspense over whether Samajwadi Party (SP) national president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will campaign for the two parties’ joint candidate for the Kairana Lok Sabha seat that goes to by-polls on May 28.

There are indications that he may resort to press conferences and written appeals to reach out to voters in Kairana, instead of personally holding election meetings there.

“We have learnt that Akhilesh Yadav will like to stay away from holding election meetings jointly or separately for our candidate in Kairana and he will do it remotely through media,” a senior RLD leader said, adding “We are trying to persuade the SP chief for active campaigning.”

Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary confirmed Akhilesh Yadav, as of now, had no plan for addressing poll meetings in Kairana .

“His written appeals are already being distributed to voters, exhorting them to vote for the SP-RLD’s joint candidates in Kairana and Noorpur and he is also holding a press conference here in Lucknow on Tuesday,” he said.

Chaudhary hastened to add, “But progarmme for his public meetings in Kairana and Noorpur will be finalised soon.”

Sources said RLD chief Ajit Singh and party vice-president Jayant Chaudhary had already started hectic door-to-door campaigning in Kairana for their candidate Begum Tabassum Hasan but they were yet to visit Noorpur to canvass for RLD’s Naeemul Hasan.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) national general secretary Trilok Tyagi said leaders of both the parties would campaign for the candidates they had jointly fielded.

“The public meetings are being chalked out. Janyat Chaudhary is slated to address a meeting in Noorpur assembly constituency on May 20,” he said, adding, “The SP-RLD alliance will win both Kairana and Noorpur.”

Sources, however, said the SP chief might shy away from active canvassing in Kairana for the reason that alliance’s candidate there was contesting on the RLD’s symbol, unlike in Phoolpur and Gorakhpur, where SP candidates supported by several other parties fought on the SP symbol only.

“Like Mayawati, who deployed her party workers in support of SP candidates in Phoolpur and Gorakhpur, instead of herself campaigning there, Akhilesh Yadav may also adopt the same strategy,” sources said.

The list of star campaigners submitted to the election commission by RLD chief Ajit Singh had Akhilesh Yadav’s name, besides those of other SP leaders Azam Khan, Ahmad Hasan and Balram Yadav.