Mulayam Singh Yadav name absent from SP list of star campaigners

Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Azamgarh, the seat represented in the Lok Sabha by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav who has shifted to Mainpuri in this election

File photo of Mulayam Singh Yadav | Praveen Jain/ThePrint

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party Sunday released its list of 40 star campaigners in which there was no mention of party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The list was released by senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav.

It carried the names of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Azam Khan, Dimple Yadav and Jaya Bachchan among others, besides Ram Gopal Yadav himself.

The Samajwadi Party has fielded Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri which is described as its “safest” seat.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav will contest from Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, the party announced Sunday.

An SP release also said the party will field senior leader Mohd Azam Khan from Rampur.

At present, the SP patriarch represents Azamgarh constituency. He had represented Mainpuri three times earlier in 1996, 2004 and 2009.

In the 2014 polls, Mulayam Singh Yadav contested from two constituencies, Azamgarh and Mainpuri, and won both.