UP Election 2022: Rakesh Tikait says won't contest, Akhilesh keeps door open for him

On a day when farm leader Rakesh Tikait reinstated that he will not contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and urged political parties to not use his name or photograph, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that his party's doors are always open for Tikait.

Rakesh Tikait left Delhi's Ghazipur border on Wednesday after the year-long farmers' protest amid a sea of supporters. He was welcomed and cheered by farmers all along the way to his village in Western UP.

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There has been speculation that Tikait might contest the UP polls as his popularity has soared immensely during the protests and after the govt's surrender of on-farm laws. Tikait emerged as the face of the farmers' protests against the now-repealed farm laws.

Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday invited Tikait to contest the election on SP ticket. He stated that SP will welcome Tikait if he wishes to contest with the party.

Rakesh Tikait has had some disastrous poll outings in the past. He contested the 2007 UP Assembly elections from the Khatauli seat with Congress support – only to finish a distant sixth.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he fought on a Rashtriya Lok Dal ticket from Amroha and lost his deposit after polling just over 9,000 votes.