Lucknow, March 24 -- Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav will contest from Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, which was represented by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

While the 79-year-old SP patriarch will contest from "safe seat" Mainpuri this time, his name was conspicuously missing from the list of 40 star campaigners of the party released here Sunday.

The Samajwadi Party also announced that senior leader Mohd Azam Khan will contest from Rampur.

The party, however, sprang a surprise by not mentioning the name of its patron Mulayam Singh Yadav in its long list of its star campaigners.

The list was released by senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav.

It included the names of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Azam Khan, Dimple Yadav ...