Lucknow, Sept 15: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will embark upon a 50-km cycle rally from Kannauj to the Air Force strip on Agra-Lucknow Expressway to begin the Samajwadi Party's campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The cycle rally is scheduled on December 2, said a Samajwadi Party leader, adding that Akhilesh is practising regularly at the Janeshwar Mishra park to prepare for the 50-km stretch.

This would be first of the many cycle rallies which Akhilesh has prepared ahead of the general elections, slated for April-May next year.

In 2012, Akhilesh had similarly embarked upon a bicycle rally in various parts of the state. The elections had also led to an emphatic victory for the Samajwadi Party, which allowed Akhilesh to become the youngest chief minister of the state.

While Samajwadi Party is gearing up for the Lok Sabha polls, the party also eyes rebellion within its ranks as several seats would be ceded to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), with which it has reached a tacit understanding to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Apart from internal revolts, the party also braces for another round of clash within the Yadav family, as disgruntled younger brother of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shivpal Singh Yadav, said he would float a new party to avenge the "humiliation meted out to him and his supporters by Akhilesh Yadav".

In the last Lok Sabha elections -- when quarters of the Samajwadi Party were hopeful of projecting Mulayam Singh Yadav as the prime ministerial candidate following the polls -- the party suffered a shock defeat, being reduced to only 5 out of the 80 seats in the state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2018 04:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).