By Express News Service
LUCKNOW: On a day of major political developments, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav decided to retain his Karhal Assembly seat and quit as MP of Azamgarh. He may become the Leader of Opposition in the UP Assembly.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader and MP from Rampur, Azam Khan also decided to resign from his Lok Sabha seat while retaining Rampur Shahar, from where was elected as MLA in the recent polls.
Akhilesh (48), who contested his first Assembly polls from his stronghold of Karhal in Mainpuri district and defeated Union minister SP Singh Baghel of BJP by over 60,000 votes, decided to retain his seat to remain more active in state politics.
On Tuesday afternoon, flanked by his uncle and Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav, Akhilesh met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Parliament and submitted his resignation.
Akhilesh was elected to the Lok Sabha from Azamgarh, considered to be the bastion of his father and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, in 2019. Before him, Mulayam had contested from both Azamgarh and Mainpuri in 2014.
After winning both seats, he left Mainpuri and retain Azamgarh. In 2019, when SP and BSP had fought together, Mulayam contested from Mainpuri and pitched Akhilesh from Azamgarh. As per SP sources, Akhilesh decided to remain an MLA after much consultation with his supporters in Karhal and Azamagarh. The SP chief had visited Azamgarh to meet party MLAs on Monday.
Party sources claimed that the SP chief took the step after elaborate talks with senior leaders and close family members who had assembled in Safai, his native village, for Holi celebrations. Sources also said that both Mulayam and his cousin Ram Gopal were of the opinion that Akhilesh should focus more on UP politics.
