Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. (Image: PTI file)
He added that his party will fight on maximum seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday confirmed his party’s alliance with the INDIA bloc for the upcoming general elections in Uttar Pradesh. He said that there are no issues with the alliance.
“We will partner with Congress, there are no issues in the alliance,” Yadav told reporters, adding that, “Ant bhala toh sab bhala” (All’s well if the end’s well).
Exuding confidence, the SP chief said that the Bharatiya Janata Party “will be defeated”. He added that his party will fight on maximum seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
CANDIDATES LIST OF SP-CONGRESS ALLIANCE
Meanwhile sources in the Congress have said that the final list of candidates of the SP-Congress alliance might be released today.
Samajdwadi Party is likely to take back its candidate for Varanasi seat and will give the seat to Congress. Earlier SP had announced its candidate from the seat even though UP Congress President Ajay Rai used to contest from there.
Hathras, on the other hand, will be given to the Akhilesh Yadav-led party in exchange for Sitapur. Additionally, SP might get one seat from Bulandshahr or Mathura and Congress might get the Shravasti seat.
The grand old party has said that SP should consider the seat-sharing proposal on the basis of caste equation on ground and the previous vote shares of both the parties.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Akhilesh Yadav’s confirmation comes a day after his party released its third list of five candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. The party fielded senior leader Shivpal Yadav from Budaun parliamentary constituency.
Party president Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle, Shivpal Yadav, is an MLA from the Jaswantnagar assembly constituency in Etawah district.
On the same day, former national general secretary of the party Swami Prasad Maurya quit the party and resigned from the post of MLC.
“I got an opportunity to work with you. But after our talks on February 12 and my resignation (as national general secretary) on February 13, no initiative of any talks with me was taken due to which I am resigning from the primary membership of the party,” Maurya said in his resignation letter to party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Meanwhile, during seat sharing talks with the Congress, SP offered 17 Lok Sabha seats in UP to the grand-old party. ““We have given a final offer of 17 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav’s participation in the Nyay Yatra in Raebareli on Tuesday will depend on their acceptance,” Rajendra Chaudhary, the Samajwadi Party’s chief spokesperson said.
Earlier on Monday, Akhilesh Yadav had said that his party will not join Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the state unless seat-sharing between the two parties is finalised.
“Right now talks are going on, lists have come from them, we have also given them the list. The moment, seat distribution is done, Samajwadi Party will join their Nyaya Yatra,” party’s chief spokesperson said.
