Akhilesh Yadav kickstarts UP campaign, snubs uncle

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav launched his party’s election campaign from Sultanpur on Tuesday, but snubbed his uncle Shivpal Yadav by not including his name in the party’s list of star campaigners.

This is the first time in the 25-year-old history of the party that Shivpal Yadav will not be among its star election campaigners.

The UP chief minister, who will use a helicopter and address two-to-three meetings a day, attacked the Centre for its “failures”.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will soon launch his campaign from western UP. He is likely to address six rallies in the region.

After the alliance between the Congress and the SP, both leaders are reworking their election strategy, and sources say that they could address about six joint rallies across the state.