Lucknow, Sep 5 (IANS): After capturing Azamgarh and Rampur, the BJP in Uttar Pradesh is now eyeing the last Samajwadi Party (SP) bastion Mainpuri, which is presently held by SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Estranged SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav has also indicated that he would contest the Mainpuri seat if Mulayam Singh Yadav does not.

Shivpal will stake his claim to the Samajwadi bastion and give a major jolt to Akhilesh Yadav.

"My first priority would be to get Mulayam Singh to contest elections but if he does not, then I will," he told reporters.

Mainpuri will be up for grabs in 2024 since party sources say that Mulayam Singh Yadav is unlikely to contest the seat now, owing to his health issues.

State minister Jaiveer Singh said: "UP BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary and the general secretary (organisation) Dharmpal Singh have formulated a strategy to win all the 80 Lok Sabha seats of the state. We are working towards winning Mainpuri in the 2024 general election."

Singh said that the pro-poor welfare programmes and schemes floated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have changed lives of have-nots in society, ensuring that they lead an honourable life.

"This will help us in winning the Mainpuri seat which has eluded us for long," he said.