Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav wants to contest the next general election from Kannauj, his wife Dimple Yadav's seat, where support for the party is slipping.

"The party's parliamentary board will take the final decision," the Samajwadi Party president and member of the legislative council said on Monday.

Akhilesh had said two months ago that Dimple would not contest the 2019 parliamentary polls, and party insiders had suggested she might be sent to the Rajya Sabha.

"We don't think Dimple will be able to retain the seat in 2019, but Akhilesh can easily win it. So, the family is looking for a new assignment for Dimple," a party senior had said.

Akhilesh revealed that his father and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav would contest from Mainpuri, close to Kannauj.

Mulayam had won from Azamgarh and Mainpuri in 2014 but vacated the second seat, from where his great-nephew Tej Pratap Yadav was elected in the by-election.

The Samajwadis have held Mainpuri since 1996, when Mulayam was elected for the first time from the constituency. Mulayam had also won from Kannauj in 1999 and resigned the following year to field Akhilesh, who represented the seat till he became chief minister in 2012.

Dimple won the by-election by more than one lakh votes, but her victory margin in 2014, against BJP candidate Subrat Pathak, fell to 20,000 votes.

That the Samajwadis are in disarray in Kannauj became clear during the recent local body elections when the party lost the leadership of three nagar palika parishads and five nagar panchayats in the district.

Akhilesh on Monday made a gesture of reconciliation to uncle and party senior Shivpal Yadav, with whom he had had a power struggle in 2016-17, wishing him a "happy birthday" through the media. It did nothing to disarm Shivpal.

"The party suffered because Akhilesh took wrong decisions in 2017," Shivpal told the reporters who brought him his nephew's greetings.

Akhilesh was talking to reporters after paying his respects to Samajwadi veteran Janeshwar Mishra on his death anniversary. It was Mishra who had persuaded Mulayam to bring Akhilesh into electoral politics.