Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav stayed away from Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as it entered Rae Bareli on Tuesday, with party sources saying an overlap on target voters and lack of progress on seat-sharing talks had forced the decision.

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh had earlier said he would join the Congress leader's Yatra. SP sources, however, said Akhilesh decided against being part of the event on Monday night when he realised that Rahul was trying to woo the same communities among whom the SP has been campaigning for over a month.

“Akhilesh is disturbed at the way Rahul is trying to court the Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who make up 73 per cent of the country's population. The SP is also campaigning among the Peechra (OBC), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (minorities) for which Akhilesh has coined the acronym PDA. This was the reason he decided not to join Rahul’s Yatra,” a senior SP leader said on the condition of anonymity.

“He (Akhilesh) summoned us on Monday night and asked what to do. It was decided that we should stay away from the Yatra for now. There is one more reason to not participate. We have decided to set aside 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh for the Congress.... Akhilesh had informed senior Congress leaders about his plan a few days ago but didn’t get any response. He doesn’t want to stand on the Congress’s platform till this matter is cleared,” the SP leader added.

Rahul continued to reach out to the OBCs, SCs and STs on the 38th day of his Yatra as it reached Rae Bareli.

Rahul called one Vijay Maurya onto the dais at the Super Market Crossing and introduced him as an unemployed youth.

Rahul asked Vijay to narrate his story to the crowd, but the youth started crying and said he was nervous. Calling him “Babbar Sher (lion)”, Rahul said: “Don’t fear anybody and tell the people why you are not able to get a job.”

Vijay replied: “I am competent but this government is giving employment to incompetent people because it works for only those who are their people and not those who are talented and deserving.”

Rahul said this problem would be solved only when a nationwide caste census is done.