Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav in Ghaziabad today to jointly campaign for Dolly Sharma

Party workers check on the preparations at Radisson Blu Hotel in Ghaziabad’s Kaushambi where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will hold a press conference on Wednesday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, two leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, will be in Ghaziabad on Wednesday to support Congress’s Ghaziabad candidate Dolly Sharma and also meet media persons there.

The office bearers of Congress and SP said the impact of the two leaders coming together will be felt in seats across Uttar Pradesh, especially in western Uttar Pradesh, and party workers will coordinate in a better manner at the ground level.

The INDIA bloc has fielded Dolly Sharma of the Congress as its candidate from Ghaziabad parliamentary constituency while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded sitting MLA Atul Garg as its candidate.

In all, 14 candidates are contesting from the parliamentary seat, including Nandkishor Pundhir from the Bahujan Samaj Party.

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“The two leaders coming together will have a major impact these elections across Uttar Pradesh and especially in 13 seats of western UP. These include Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Baghpat, and Meerut, among others. Rahul ji during his Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has raised issues concerning youth, women, farmers, and the common man. As a result, we are also getting support from jats, Dalits and other sections in our campaign,” said Vinit Tyagi, district president, Congress.

The two leaders will hold a joint press conference in Sahibabad, which is the assembly segment with the highest number of voters at 1,053,661, as per the electoral rolls finalised on April 4.

Overall, the Ghaziabad parliamentary constituency has 2,941,624 voters this time as compared to 2,726,132 voters during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,

“Our party leader Akhilesh Yadav has done much for Ghaziabad. He was instrumental in getting the Metro, Hindon elevated road, city forest and many other projects. The workers of SP and Congress are now working together to put up a tough fight these elections. The two leaders coming together will strengthen INDIA bloc fight and ensure that BJP’s claims of a resounding win in UP gets dented,” said Faisal Hussain, district president, SP.

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In 2004, Congress candidate won the Lok Sabha seat while in 2009, 2014 and 2019, the BJP secured a win in Ghaziabad.

The BJP office bearers said the two leaders coming together will not have any impact on the polls.

“The INDIA bloc has lost its sheen and there is no impact that we foresee if Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav come together. They had come together for the assembly elections in UP in 2017 and could not win. The Congress is almost finished in UP while the SP is also headed for the same fate. Our candidates with our ally, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, will win all seats in western UP,” said Ajay Sharma, Lok Sabha convener of BJP (Ghaziabad).

Sharma said chief minister Yogi Adityanath will hold a rally in Pilkhuwa on April 18 while film star Kangana Ranaut is expected to hold a roadshow in Ghaziabad on April 22 .

Political experts said Rahul and Akhilesh coming together will positively impact INDIA bloc’s campaign.

“Leaving aside prevailing situations, both Rahul and Akhilesh have the capacity to pull voters. Rahul during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has highlighted various issues of the common man. Likewise, Akhilesh also has an image of taking development ahead in UP. So, both need to come together to remind voters about their work and agenda,” said KK Sharma, associate professor (history) from CCS University, Meerut.

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