Akhilesh Yadav joins Rahul Gandhi's Yatra in Agra, days after seat-share deal

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Uttar Pradesh's Agra on February 25. This collaboration comes just days after a seat-share deal was announced between the two parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing the gathering at the Nyay Yatra, Yadav emphasized the crucial need to safeguard democracy and the constitution in the face of challenges. He expressed gratitude towards the public and underscored the urgency to fulfill the dreams of Dr. BR Ambedkar, which, he claimed, had been thwarted by the BJP. "BJP haatao, desh bachao," Yadav reiterated, echoing the sentiment of the event.

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also joined the yatra in Aligarh, raising poignant questions about the BJP's decade-long rule. Vadra highlighted concerns over youth unemployment, farmer protests, and inflation, while Rahul Gandhi asserted that injustice against the poor persists under the Modi government.

The collaboration between Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav marks a significant political reunion reminiscent of a similar scene seven years ago in Agra when both leaders conducted a joint road show ahead of the 2017 UP assembly elections.

Despite the enthusiasm surrounding the yatra, all four parliamentary seats through which it passed on Sunday—Aligarh, Hathras (reserved), Agra (reserved), and Fatehpur Sikri—were won by the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, an extension of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, commenced from Manipur on January 14 and is scheduled to conclude in Mumbai on March 20. This initiative aims to galvanize support and address pressing issues across the nation.

Under the seat-sharing agreement between the Congress and the SP, the SP will contest 63 seats while the Congress will contest 17 out of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.

Key constituencies like Rae Bareli, Amethi, and Varanasi were ceded to the Congress by Yadav—a strategic move considering their significance in the political landscape. Varanasi is the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Amethi was lost by Rahul Gandhi to BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019. Rae Bareli was formerly represented by Sonia Gandhi until she shifted to the Rajya Sabha for health reasons.

In the 2019 polls, the BJP emerged victorious with 62 seats, while the SP, in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party, secured five seats.