Khazanchi to kick off SP’s Mission 2019

Lucknow: With a nearly two-year-old Khazanchi as his mascot, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will embark on his election campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in September.

Khazanchi was born to his mother while she was in a queue outside a bank in Kanpur Dehat, waiting to exchange old currency after demonetisation.

The boy, who was born in the queue on December 2, 2016, was named Khazanchi (cashier) by the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who also gave the family a sum of Rs 1 lakh. On the first birthday of Khazanchi last year, Mr Yadav has sent him Rs 10,000 as a birthday gift.

“Khazanchi will flag off Mr Yadav’s cycle yatra that will begin from Kannauj and culminate at the point where the fighter jets had landed on the Lucknow Agra expressway. We will register our protest against policies like demagnetisation and also showcase our work which includes the Lucknow-Agra Expressway,” said SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary and added that the party chief will cycle for more than 50 km on the inaugural day.

The choice of Kannauj to start the election campaign is significant since Mr Akhilesh Yadav has already announced that he will contest the Lok Sabha election from here. Ms Dimple Yadav, who is the sitting MP from Kannauj, is opting out of electoral politics.

Though the date for the cycle yatra has not yet been confirmed, party sources said that similar yatras would be taken out from all corners of the state every month with the intention of mobilising party workers and also increasing interaction with the common people. “It was through his yatras in 2012 that Mr Akhilesh had ensured a comfortable majority for the SP. The cycle yatras will again mobilise the party and sound the death knell for the ruling BJP”, Mr Chaudhary said.

Interestingly, Akhilesh has decided to flag off his campaign without waiting for alliance with other like-minded parties to materialise.