Akhilesh Yadav's big hint on Rahul Gandhi's LS candidature from Amethi

Kannauj (Uttar Pradesh): Amid the reports of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contesting from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said that everyone will gather in Uttar Pradesh now.

Replying to the question "Now that you have come to Kannauj, is your friend (Rahul Gandhi) going to come (contest) to Amethi", Akhilesh Yadav said, "Sab aayenge ab toh (Everyone will come now), mehfil toh ab UP mein hi sajegi (The gathering will be in Uttar Pradesh only)."

Akhilesh Yadav was in Kannauj where he filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha polls.

Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ramgopal Yadav accompanied Akhilesh while he was filing his nomination. Akhilesh Yadav was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from Kannauj in a by-election in 2000.

He was then re-elected twice from the same constituency in 2004 and 2009. He took over as UP CM in 2012 and returned to the Lok Sabha in 2019 as an MP from Azamgarh.

In 2022 he resigned from the LS to be a part of the UP Assembly. Voting on the Kannauj seat will be held in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 13.

Meanwhile, according to sources Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi are likely to contest the Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli and Amethi seats, respectively.

Sources mentioned that the final decision will be taken after April 26 and nominations can be filed next week.

In the second phase, Wayanad from where Rahul Gandhi is contesting will go to the polls.

Smriti Irani defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi. Irani has again been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party from the seat.

(ANI)