Uttar Pradesh election 2022: Will contest only after Azamgarh people nod, says Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday showed his inclination towards contesting the 2022 elections, saying that if he decided to jump into the fray from Azamgarh then he would first seek approval of the people there. Akhilesh was responding to reports doing the rounds that he might contest the 2022 Assembly polls and from a constituency in Azamgarh.
"Main Azamgarh ki janata se anutmati le kar hi chunav ladunga ...agar chunav ladta hon to ... Azamgarh ki janta se anumati is liye leni padegi ... wahan ke logon ne mujhe jitaya hai (I will first seek permission from people of Azamgarh to contest elections ... if I contest elections at all ... I will have to seek their permission because they are the people who have ensured my victory)," Akhilesh said.
Political circles are rife with speculations about Akhilesh contesting elections in the light of the fact that BJP has nominated chief minister Yogi Adityanath as candidate from Gorakhpur (Urban) and deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya from Sirathu seat respectively.
"Bua, Babua aur Mrs Vadra ji ko janata ko batana chahiye ki aap kis kis seat se chunav lad rahe hain ya haar ke dar se chunav nahi ladenge (Mayawati, Akhilesh and Priyanka Gandhi should tell the people about the seats that they would contest elections from or the fear of defeat has prompted them not to contest polls)," the BJP had tweeted.
There have been reports that Akhilesh might enter fray from Gopalpur seat in Azamgarh which is dominated by Yadav and Muslims. In case Akhilesh does it, it would be the first time he would contest the assembly poll in his two-decade political career.