LUCKNOW: On the final day of campaigning for the seventh and final phase of 2022 Assembly elections, Samajwadi Party chief addressed as many as eight rallies in Azamgarh, Jaunpur and Mirzapur. Curtains came down on the SP campaign with Mayank Joshi, the son of BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi formally joining SP at a rally in Azamgarh where Akhilesh welcomed him into the party fold from the stage.
Retired IAS officer Kunwar Fateh Bahadur Singh – one of the most trusted bureaucrats of Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati during her stint as the UP chief minister – also formally joined Samajwadi Party at the same rally.
"Mayank Joshi, son of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi today joined Samajwadi Party," Akhilesh announced addressing a rally in Azamgarh’s Gopalpur as the crowd cheered.
Interestingly, Mayank had called on SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on February 22 as well but the meeting then was described as a courtesy call by SP. Speculations over Mayank siding with the SP had gained momentum ever since his mother Rita Bahuguna Joshi - sitting BJP MP from Allahabad – had publicly expressed the desire to see her son contest the 2022 Assembly polls from Lucknow Cantonment seat on a BJP ticket but her wish was ignored by the saffron party.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi had won the 2017 assembly elections from Lucknow Cantonment seat which fell vacant after she became an MP from Allahabad. In the bypolls that followed BJP’s Suresh Tiwari reclaimed the seat which had won thrice in the past.
Welcoming Kunawar Fateh Bahadur, SP chief took to twitter to describe the development as coming together of Ambedkarwadis (primarily Dalits) with SP. “Ambedkarwadis come along, vote for bicycles and ensure victory of SP alliance,” Akhilesh tweeted.
SP chief has been calling upon people who follow 'Ambedkar' (primarily dalits) as Ambedkarwadis, seeking their support in the elections and promising them that their rights will be protected once SP is voted to power. His call for 'Ambedkarwadis' figure in his public addresses on a regular basis.
