Samajwadi Party's Rae Bareli Rath Yatra: A Strategic Blunder or a Show of Strength?

Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav launched the PDA rath yatra from Rae Bareli on Thursday. Crane garlands, flower showers, workers flooding the streets, and a public meeting at Rajkiya Inter College ground - it was a show of strength. The decision to enter the fray after nearly seven months could have been a shot in the arm for the party. But the choice of venue has become a question mark. Rae Bareli is a traditional Congress bastion and Rahul Gandhi's parliamentary constituency. Taking out an election yatra from there could prove to be a strategic blunder for the SP. Preparations for Mission 2027 began in March from Noida. Akhilesh Yadav has been confined to office and press conferences for most of the time since then. The sudden pulling out of the rath from Rae Bareli in the last week of September is also in the news because the move comes amid infighting in the alliance. Three of the five assembly seats in the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency - Bachhrawan, Harchandpur, and Sareni - are with the SP. Manoj Pandey's journey to the political stronghold of SP has begun. This is where the party's political clout has grown.