Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav files nomination from Mainpuri

New Delhi, Arp 01: Samajwadi Party (SP) patriarch filed his nomination papers for Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency for the 2019 General elections on Monday.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav's son, and his wife Dimple Yadav will be present at the event.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the 77-year-old founder of SP, ruled himself out of the prime ministerial race. When asked who is the PM candidate of the SP-BSP alliance, he said, "It will be decided after the polls".

Mulayam Singh Yadav, who currently represents the Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituency, was nominated earlier to fight from the "safe seat" of Mainpuri this time.

The SP on Sunday said its president Akhilesh Yadav will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, presently represented by his father and party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.

In 2014, BJP and its allies won 73 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats at stake in the state. SP won five seats while the Congress could manage to win only two seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) drew a blank.

This time SP has formed an alliance with the BSP.

Seven-phase Lok Sabha polls are set to begin on April 11 and will go on till May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23. In Uttar Pradesh, where 80 seats are at stake, polling will be held during all seven phases.