After a series of last-minute changes, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has declared party president Akhilesh Yadav as its candidate for the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, replacing his nephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav. The official Twitter handle of the party announced that Akhilesh Yadav would file his nomination papers for Kannauj on April 25th. According to senior SP politicians, the decision was made following pressure from district-level functionaries in Kannauj, who believed that Akhilesh Yadav’s candidacy would ensure the party’s victory in Kannauj and surrounding constituencies.