UP polls: Akhilesh-Rahul kick off their joint poll campaign

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday will address a joint conference following a road show before high stakes state assembly elections in the state.

Pic courtsey: ANI

Lucknow: Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday addressed a joint conference.

Cong VP Rahul Gandhi and UP CM Akhilesh Yadav's joint press conference in Lucknow to start shortly pic.twitter.com/qpqEcHX8Hp

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 29, 2017

The Gandhi scion arrived in Lucknow today afternoon and headed to the Samajwadi party headquarter here where he met Akhilesh Yadav. The duo will hold their first joint press conference shortly.

Lucknow: CM Akhilesh Yadav & Cong VP Rahul Gandhi to hold joint press conference shortly pic.twitter.com/MznvWNvnDf — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 29, 2017

"Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav would jointly address a press conference in Lucknow today after which they will take out a road show," a minister said earlier today.

Their joint press conference will be followed by a joint road show which will happen the city later in the day.

Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are around the corner and this was the first outing of the two leaders after the alliance between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party was announced.

The Congress is contesting 105 seats while the ruling Samajwadi Party is contesting 298 seats in the 'crucial' Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Uttar Pradesh will be voting for a new state assembly in a seven-phase election, voting for which begins on February 11 and concludes on March 8.

A joint poster with the slogan 'UP ko yeh saath pasand hai' having the pictures of both Rahul and Akhilesh and their respective party symbols will also be released on the occasion.

The alliance is believed to counter the rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) making the contest across the state triangular.

Soon after the alliance was struck, BSP supremo Mayawati got the support of mafia-turned MLA Mukhtar Ansari` party Quami Ekta Dal (QED) to consolidate its Muslim vote bank in some constituencies of eastern districts where the Ansari brothers have their strong influence.