Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is setting the political ground for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election in 2022. Yadav is all set to embark on a 350 km ‘Cycle Yatra’ from Rampur to Lucknow from March 13 to 21.
The SP has alleged that the BJP government is taking action against Rampur MP Azam Khan by adding his name to fake cases and vengeance, however, in order to protest against this, SP Chief will be paddling from Rampur to Lucknow.
During the 2012 assembly elections, Akhilesh Yadav had embarked on a similar road trip across the state after which the Samajwadi Party had come to power with a thumping majority. Now, the SP Chief is set to take ‘Cycle Yatra’ where he is said to paddle at least 40 kilometers a day.
As per the schedule, on March 12, a press conference on the matter will be conducted at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, Rampur. On March 13 state President Naresh Uttam Patel will flag off the Cycle Yatra from Ambedkar Park Rampur to Bareilly, on March 14, SP leader Ramgovind Chaudhary will flag off the yatra from Mirganj, Bareilly which will head towards Katra. The chief’s Yatra will reach Shahjahanpur from Katra on March 16 and Maigalganj from Shahjahanpur on March 17, on March 18 it will Sitapur and on March 19 former state minister and senior SP leader Ahmad Hassan will flag off the Yatra in Sitapur. On March 21, the yatra will culminate at SP Headquarters in Lucknow where Yadav will be addressing a gathering as well.
As per sources in the SP, the purpose of this cycle yatra is to register public anger against the BJP government’s retaliatory actions against Azam Khan, the founder MP of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur. Azam Khan is an MP from Rampur and a former minister in the SP government. His wife Tanzim Fatima is a MLA from Rampur.
As per the allegations of the Samajwadi Party, ever since the BJP came to power, the family of Azam Khan has suffered a lot as several alleged fake cases have been filed against this family. Yadav has made it clear that he along with this entire party stands firmly with the jailed Samajwadi Party leader.