Shivpal Yadav likely to contest against PM in Varanasi for INDIA

Lucknow: In a significant development, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shivpal Yadav, the uncle of party president Akhilesh Yadav, is being considered as the opposition alliance INDIA’s candidate from Varanasi, pitting him against incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. PM, seeking his third consecutive term from Varanasi, had previously contested and won from the same constituency in the 2014 and 2019.

Sources close to Shivpal Yadav revealed that he has expressed his willingness to contest from Varanasi if the opposition alliance approves his candidacy. Shivpal Singh Yadav himself confirmed the possibility of being the INDIA candidate and taking on PM in Varanasi, during a statement made on Friday. Furthermore, speculations within SP suggest that Shivpal may also consider contesting from the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat. It is worth noting that Mulayam Singh Yadav had successfully contested and won from Azamgarh in both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while in 2019 polls, Akhilesh Yadav emerged victorious from the same constituency.

Expressing confidence in the party’s performance, Shivpal Singh Yadav stated that the Samajwadi Party is poised to secure at least 50 seats out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party had allied with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but managed to win only five seats, while the BSP secured 10 seats.

In his address, Shivpal also took a swipe at Om Prakash Rajbhar, the president of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, who recently joined the NDA. Shivpal accused Rajbhar of losing the trust of the people and described him as an ambitious individual with an unstable mindset, capable of making unpredictable statements. It is worth noting that SBSP had allied with the Samajwadi Party in the 2022 UP Assembly elections but later withdrew from the alliance soon after the polls.

“As the political landscape in Uttar Pradesh intensifies, the Samajwadi Party is gearing up to present a formidable challenge to the ruling NDA and its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, by nominating Shivpal Yadav as the opposition’s face from Varanasi. The upcoming elections are anticipated to be closely watched, with all eyes on the contest in one of India’s most critical constituencies,” Nomita P Kumar of Giri Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) in Lucknow said.