Agra: Taking a dig at BJP, the SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidate Akshay Yadav claimed that Firozabad is Samajwadi Party’s (SP) stronghold and “the saffron party doesn’t stand a chance”. The BJP is yet to field anyone from Firozabad parliamentary constituency.On Friday, after filing nomination papers in presence of SP leader Vijay Arya and BSP ex-MLA Rakesh Babu, the incumbent MLA interacted with mediapersons. The 32-year-old leader said, “Constituencies such as Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kannauj, Badaun and Azamgarh are SP bastions. BJP is in a poor condition which is evident from the fact that till date they haven’t declared their candidate from Firozabad. The SP-BSP-RLD coalition will win and the other candidates will fight for second, third and fourth positions."When asked, in the absence of BJP, whether the Firozabad seat contest will be fought between nephew and uncle, Akshay said, “An elder’s duty in a family is always to bless the younger ones. I urge uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav to bestow his blessing on his second nephew and promote a youngster in the new era of politics.”Shivpal Yadav is set to file nomination on Saturday. Firozabad comprises of five state assembly segments — Tundla, Jasrana, Firozabad, Shikohabad and Sirsaganj. According to the election commission, there were 16,36,738 voters in the 2014 polls, and Akshay won the seat with 5,34,583 votes.Speaking to TOI, Firozabad BJP unit president, Manvendra Singh Lodhi, said, “The party’s parliamentary committee is finalising the candidate for Firozabad. We expect an announcement soon.”Local political analyst said that there are at least five senior BJP leaders in the race. “Manish Asiza, the incumbent MLA of Firozabad state assembly constituency; Thakur Jaiveer Singh of Sirsaganj, who contested against incumbent SP MLA Hariom Singh Yadav; senior RSS leader from the district Ram Kailash Yadav; Nanak Chand Agrawal, the senior leader of BJP whose brother Anil Jain is party national general secretary; and BJP’s Firozabad unit president Manvendra Singh Lodhi; are strong contenders for the race,” a party source told TOI.

Stay updated with all the Agra Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.