Lucknow: If the views of a famous tea seller in the Uttar Pradesh capital are anything to go by, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav appears to be at an advantage ahead of the crucial assembly elections.

People from all ages and all walks of life spoke favourably about the young Samajwadi Party leader who has taken control of the party after staging a coup against his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

"Akhilesh has come out of the shadow of his father and uncles (Shivpal Yadav and Ramgopal Yadav)," Dinesh Lal, a businessman in his late 60s, has said.