Akhilesh-Rahul set to 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.

The Congress is contesting 105 seats while the ruling Samajwadi Party is contesting 298 seats.

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.