Lok Sabha Elections 2019: SP issues first list, Fields Mulayam in Mainpuri

Lucknow: Just after the congress confirmed the fielding of its candidates for upcoming polls, Samajwadi Party also released the first list of its six candidates, on Friday. Party president, Akhilesh's name wasn't in the first list.

The list includes the party founder and MP Mulayam Singh Yadav, chand Akhilesh Yadav's cousins Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav.

While Mulayam Singh Yadav will contest from its "safest" seat, Mainpuri, Dharmendra Yadav is fielded in Badaun and Akshay Yadav in Firozabad.

Here is the list of the contesting candidates and their constituencies:

-At present, Mulayam Singh represents Azamgarh constituency and had represented Mainpuri three times earlier — in 1996, 2004 and 2009. In the 2014 polls, Mulayam contested from two constituencies — Azamgarh and Mainpuri — and won both. While his victory margin in the former was only 63,204, he secured a whopping lead of 3.64 lakh in the latter. In 2009 too, the SP patriarch won the Mainpuri seat by a margin of over 1.6 lakh votes.

-On the other hand, Ram Gopal Yadav's son Dharmendra will contest again from the seat that he has won thrice. Akshay will contest from Firozabad, from where he had won the last parliamentary elections.

-Others on the list are Kamlesh Katheria from Yadav family's hometurf Etawah, Bhailal Kol from Robertsganj and Shabbir Ahmad Balmiki from Bahraich. The three names have been declared on the reserved seat.

The SP-BSP alliance may score a win for the collaboration in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections against Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose candidates's list is yet to come.