Akhilesh Yadav was on Thursday elected unanimously as the president of the Samajwadi Party for the third consecutive time, said the party's secretary general Ram Gopal Yadav.

Declaring the result of the election at the Samajwadi Party national convention at Ramabai Ambedkar stadium here, Ram Gopal Yadav said Akhilesh Yadav was the only candidate for the post, PTI reported.

Taking over from his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav became SP president for the first time at an emergency meeting of the party in January 2017 and for the second time at the party's national convention in Agra in October the same year.