Lucknow: Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav told NDTV Friday that he remained open to contesting the 2022 UP Assembly election – after having told news agency PTI last month that he would not.
Mr Yadav – whose ‘rainbow’ alliance of regional parties is emerging as a serious challenge to the BJP’s re-election hopes – said a decision on him standing for election would be taken by his party.
“If the party wants, I will contest the election. I had said earlier too that if the party decides, I will contest the election in 2022,” Mr Yadav told NDTV during the final stage of his Samajwadi Vijay yatra.
“I am currently a Lok Sabha MP from Azamgarh… I will decide after asking the people there.”
Mr Yadav said the same thing to NDTV last month as well; that he would contest the election “if the party wants”. This was two weeks after he told PTI: “I will not be contesting the election myself.”
Akhilesh Yadav – who led the Samajwadi Party to a famous win in 2012, winning 224 of 403 seats – held a rally in UP’s Rae Bareli – the last remaining Congress stronghold in the state – today.
