By-elections in Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh Yadav confident of historic win for Samajwadi Party

Samajwadi Party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav. File Pic

As the by-elections for nine assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh approach, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and Member of Parliament Akhilesh Yadav expressed strong confidence over his party's success on Friday, news agency ANI reported.

He predicted that Tej Pratap Yadav, the SP candidate for the Karhal Assembly constituency, will secure victory, and emphasised that the results will mark a historic verdict in favour of his party in the upcoming by-election in Uttar Pradesh.

The SP chief, while speaking to media persons, said, "The people of Karhal will not only support Tej Pratap ji in this election but also in the 2027 elections; there will be a historic result in favour of the Samajwadi Party. BJP will face a historic defeat. BJP people only create hype; they created hype in the Lok Sabha elections as well but they were not successful... What can you expect from a government that did not make any arrangements?"

The Karhal Assembly constituency will go for the by-poll on November 13.

The by-polls are scheduled for November 13, covering nine vacant assembly seats out of 10 in Uttar Pradesh. Notably, Milkipur in Ayodhya district is excluded from this round of elections.

The nine assembly seats that will go for the by-election in Uttar Pradesh include Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Karhal, Phulpur, and Katehari.

Yadav also highlighted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that candidates from INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) will contest under the SP symbol.

"It is not about seats but about winning. Under this strategy, the joint candidates of 'India Alliance' will contest all 9 seats on the Samajwadi Party's election symbol, 'cycle'. Congress and the Samajwadi Party are united and standing shoulder to shoulder for a big victory. India Alliance is going to write a new chapter of victory in this by-election," read the post on X in Hindi.

Congress party officials confirmed their decision not to field candidates in the nine assembly seats that will go for the by-election in Uttar Pradesh and expressed their backing for SP.

Avinash Pandey, Congress's state in-charge, said on Thursday that this collaboration aims to strengthen their position against the ruling party.

Addressing a press conference in Mainpuri, Pandey said, "The Congress has decided not to field candidates in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh bypolls and has announced its support for the Samajwadi Party in UP."

The Congress state in-charge further added, "This press conference is an important notice for Uttar Pradesh, that has been the centre of attention in the country's politics. This is also regarding the role of Congress in the by-elections to be held there."

He also said, "In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the people of UP gave a befitting reply to them [BJP]. Today, with values to protect and save the Constitution, [party leader] Rahul Gandhi is touring the country and working to give justice to every section of society."

The counting of votes for the by-election is set for November 23.

(With inputs from ANI)