In fresh jolt to INDIA, Akhilesh set to skip Rahul Yatra in Amethi, Raebareli; raises seat-sharing heat

In another setback to the Opposition INDIA alliance in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav is set to give a miss toRahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Amethi and Raebareli in the state.

Akhilesh said Monday that he will join Rahul’s Yatra only after the finalisation of seat-sharing between the SP and the Congress for the UP seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The SP chief’s announcement came barely a couple of weeks after he wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to assure him about his joining the Yatra either in Amethi or Rae Bareli, while wishing success for the UP leg of the Yatra.

The Amethi and Raebareli parliamentary constituencies are among the Congress’s few remaining strongholds in UP.

On February 6, Akhilesh had received the Congress leadership’s invitation to join Rahul’s cross-country Yatra that entered UP on February 16. While asserting that he will join it in Amethi or Raebareli, the SP chief also claimed that the INDIA alliance along with his party’s strategy centred on “PDA” – Picchde (backward classes or OBCs), Dalits and Alpsankhyak (minorities) – will create a “new history of victory”.

Rahul’s Yatra will traverse Amethi Monday, where he along with Kharge will also address a public rally in Babuganj area. Rahul will stay in Amethi for the night and resume his Yatra for neigbouring Rae Bareli on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in Lucknow Monday, Akhilesh said that the seat-sharing talks with the INDIA partner Congress were continuing. “Several rounds of dialogues have happened and several lists (of seats) have been exchanged. When seat distribution will be finalised, Samajwadi Party will join Congress’s Nyay Yatra,” he said.

Akhilesh’s move clearly seems to be aimed