Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav will be contesting from Azamgarh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, a seat currently held by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Senior leader Azam Khan will contest his debut Lok Sabha election from Rampur.
The party has also named 40 star campaigners to hold public rallies. They include Mulayam Singh, Ram Gopal, Jaya Bachchan, Ashu Malik, Dimple Yadav and Ahmad Hasan.
SP is contesting 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh, and is in alliance with the BSP, which will contest 38. Ajit Singh's RLD has been given three seats, while two seats have been left for the Congress.
Mulayam had won both Azamgarh and Mainpuri in 2014, but decided to give up the latter. The party's choice of replacing him with son Akhilesh is a strategic move by the party to bolster its chances in the crucial East UP region. Mulayam will contest from Mainpuri again.
Akhilesh had dethroned his father as party chief in 2016 after a bitter feud. He also showed the door to his uncle Shivpal. Shivpal has since formed his own party and has often attacked Akhilesh.
