Azamgarh:
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav's mega rally in Azamgarh was cancelled today due to incessant rain. This was supposed to be his first rally after the poll dates were announced.
"As the weather was bad, Mulayam and Azam Khan, who were supposed to fly to Azamgarh, could not take off from Lucknow," party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said.
Both the leaders waited till late afternoon but were forced to cancel the trip as weather conditions did not improve, he said.
The party is hoping to improve its tally from six seats in the region. Due to the 28 per cent Dalit population in the area, Mayawati's Bahujan Samajwadi Party dominates the political landscape in Azamgarh with its presence on 15 out of the 22 assembly seats.
With the Yadav community constituting 18 per cent of the voting population, Mulayam Singh is hoping for a turnaround in fortunes with the help of the 17 per cent Muslim voters in the area.
But smaller parties like the Ulema council and the peace party that mushroomed during the last Lok Sabha elections have emerged as the latest threat for the Samajwadi Party and could eat into the party's Muslim vote base.
Polls will begin in Uttar Pradesh on February 4.