Yadav will travel in a Mercedes bus, which has been turned into a 'rath' having posters of Akhilesh Yadav displayed on one side and that of party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on the other, besides a picture of party leader Mohammad Azam Khan. A day before the yatra, the party released a 17-second video in which Akhilesh Yadav is seen talking to his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and touching his feet to get blessings. The SP said that yatra will start from Kanpur and in the first two days on Oct 12-13 it will cover Kanpur Dehat, Jalaun and Hamirpur. Chowdhury said it was the third such yatra by Akhilesh Yadav after the ones in July 2001 and September 2011. The politically crucial state is again headed for a heated multi-cornered contest with all major parties like the BJP, BSP, SP and the Congress reaching out to voters.

Source: The Telegraph October 11, 2021 12:11 UTC