Another son rises in Rae Bareli

Rae Bareli, UP, Apr 27 (UNI) It is now a son vs son in Rae Bareli. To counter the whirlwind campaign of Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi in support of his mother Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's MP son Akhilesh would launch a 'Cycle Yatra'.

The Samajwadi Party today announced the Yatra, which Akhilesh would launch here on Saturday. Incidentally, cycle is the SP party symbol. Party candidate Rajkumar Chaudhury is pitted against Ms Gandhi in the May 8 Rae Bareli bypoll.

Akhilesh would hold 11 'nukkad' meetings on Saturday, while riding a bicycle. He is expected to cover a distance of around 30 km during the day.

SP leaders said the cycle Yatra was aimed at campaigning for Mr Chaudhury and countering Rahul's outburst against the UP government.

The Kannauj MP would begin the proposed Yatra from the Rae Bareli main township and cover 10 destinations. He would conclude the event at Murai Ka Bagh area in the evening.

When Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav was in the Opposition, he had carried out a similar Yatra through the UP capital to protest the policies of then chief minister and BSP president Mayawati.

During his 'chaupal sabhas', the Amethi MP had been reiterating his charge that the contribution of UP government in the development of Rae Bareli was negligible.

Rahul claimed that despite the indifferent attitude of the state government, the Congress had undertaken several development works with the help from the Centre.

He had on Tuesday kickstarted campaign for his mother and AICC president Sonia Gandhi.

''The Gandhi family shares a seasoned bond with Rae Baerli. When my grandmother late prime minister Indira Gandhi represented this constituency, good development was witnessed here,'' he claimed.

He listed several schemes related to roads, drinking water and employment, which were ushered in following the victory of Ms Gandhi from the segment in 2004.

The Rae Bareli bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of the Congress President from the seat over the office of profit controversy.

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