The Congress party has fielded no candidates against Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav on Karhal and Jaswant Nagar assembly seats where the deadline for filing nominations ended Tuesday. A Congress party spokesperson said the party pitted no candidates against the two in a reciprocal gesture of the SP which too had fielded no one on Rae Bareilly and Amethi Lok Sabha seats against INC leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 general elections. Congress’ Etawah district unit president Malkhan Singh said the local unit had sent a list of six names for the Jaswant Nagar seat but the party high command did not approve of any name for the constituency.

UP Congress general secretary Prakash Pradhan said the top leadership of the party had directed that since SP patriarch Mulayam Singh did not field any candidate against our leaders, the party too would field no one against Akhilesh Yadav in Karhal. The Congress party had earlier declared Gyanwati Yadav as its candidate for the Karhal assembly seat but after Akhilesh Yadav filed his nomination there, the party decided to withdraw her candidature, Pradhan said.

Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls for the first time from Karhal, falling within the Lok Sabha constituency Mainpuri held by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Shivpal Singh Yadav is in the fray on the Jaswant Nagar seat for the sixth time.

Both the seats will go to the polls on February 20 in the third phase of the seven-phase UP assembly elections.

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