Lok Sabha elections 2019: SP releases candidate list; Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Azamgarh

Lucknow, Mar 24: The Samajwadi Party on Sunday announced that its chief Akhilesh Yadav will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019 from Azamgarh, while Azam Khan will contest from Rampur. The party also put out its list of star campaigners, which surprisingly did not feature SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Among the party's star campaigners include Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav, Azam Khan, Dimple Yadav and Jaya Bachchan. Mulayam, however, will be contesting from the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat.

It is interesting to note that Azamgarh was won by Mulayam Singh Yadav in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. This year, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Mulayam Singh from Mainpuri and replaced him with son Akhilesh in Azamgarh. On the other hand, Azam Khan is a strongman of Rampur constituency. The SP is seemingly mobilising minorities as the Congress is fielding Muslim faces in Western UP.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party will launch its massive election campaign blitzkrieg with the 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' today, with party stalwarts travelling across the country to address rallies in different Lok Sabha constituencies.