The first family of the Samajwadi Party has dropped anchor in Firozabad to see their bahu through in the Lok Sabha by-elections early November.

Mulayam Singh’s daughter-in-law, son Akhilesh’s wife Dimple Yadav is inexperienced. And that is not the family’s only worry here. Ugly factional fights have niggled the party’s traditional dominance of the area in recent times, and the family had hoped its illustrious surname — synonymous with the core support base of the party — would rein in dissent.

But the party’s ‘friends’ at the Centre seem to have dealt an unexpected blow. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi — in a break from tradition as he hardly campaigns in by-elections — has announced he will address a public meeting in Firozabad on October 30 for party candidate Raj Babbar.

Rahul Gandhi’s decision has naturally raised a few hackles in the Samajwadi Party (SP). Party general secretary Mohan Singh said: “Rahul’s visit will not make much difference to the electoral prospects of our candidate, but the Congress has shown it no longer cares for political courtesy.”

The party worries that Rahul Gandhi will command the youth vote. In the Congress, however, nobody quite knows who invited the national leader. Chief spokesman of the state Congress, Subodh Srivastava said: “The state did not request for his presence. It appears Raj Babbar took the initiative.”

Firozabad is a prestige issue for SP. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Akhilesh Yadav had won from here and Kannauj. Mohan Singh said: “In the recent polls, SP did not field candidates against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli and Rahul in Amethi. The Congress reciprocated by leaving Mainpuri for Mulayam and Kannauj for Akhilesh.” The Congress did field someone against Akhilesh in Firozabad but he lost his security deposit.

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