Lucknow, Oct 10 (IANS): Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav will start his campaign for Lok Sabha polls 2014 Oct 29, party leaders said Thursday. The first of 18 rallies would be held in Azamgarh.

The state parliamentary board Wednesday chalked out an elaborate electoral road map for the SP chief, under which he will address 18 public rallies across the state.

"He would be focusing on all divisions, and would be spreading awareness about the pro-farmer and pro-poor works and schemes undertaken by the Akhilesh Yadav government," a leader told IANS.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has planned nine rallies in the state with its prime minister candidate Narendra Modi. The Congress has eight rallies worked out for its vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who held rallies in Aligarh and Rampur Wednesday.

Modi's first Uttar Pradesh rally is slated for Oct 19, in Kanpur.

The Samajwadi Party directed its workers to ensure that people have their names in the electoral rolls, and cast their votes.

The SP chief also directed the formation of a state core committee to oversee electoral preparations for the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Party leaders have also been told to fan out in the countryside to inform villagers and farmers of welfare schemes undertaken by the state government, and point out efforts of certain parties to foment communal strife in Uttar Pradesh.