SP is in alliance with Congress too, not just BSP: Akhilesh

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also broke his silence on seat sharing with RLD and confirmed to share three seats with the party.

On a day Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held her first roadshow in Lucknow after being made the party general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said his party was not only in an alliance with the BSP, but also with the Congress, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Nishad Party and the Peace Party.

“Kyunki yeh gathbandhan BSP se toh hai, wahin aapko jankari hogi ki Congress party bhi isme shaamil hai, RLD ko bhi teen seatein di gayi hain, woh bhi shamil hain, aur Nishaad party ko bhi kyunki pehle hum chunaav unke saath lade hain, Peace Party ne bhi sahyog kiya tha. Aane waale samay mein kuch Lok Sabha mein humare saath rahenge, kuch Vidhan Sabha mein bhi humare saath rahenge (This coalition is not only with the BSP, but the Congress is also part of this alliance. RLD has been given three seats, they are also part of it. The Nishad Party is also a part of the alliance. We have contested together in the past. The Peace party has also helped us. In the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, some will be with us and some will be with us in Vidhan Sabha polls too),” Akhilesh told reporters in Firozabad on Monday.

BSP chief Mayawati, who has been critical of the Congress, had ruled out any alliance with it. Akhilesh, however, has been avoiding any direct comment against the Congress. When they announced their alliance in Lucknow in January, Akhilesh and Mayawati said that there was no alliance with Congress for Lok Sabha elections, but clarified that they would not field candidates from two seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli.

At a joint press conference with Akhilesh in Lucknow on January 12, Mayawati said, “There is no real gain from aligning with the Congress. Whether it is the Congress or the BJP, it is the same thing. The defence scams have hit both of them. All the sections are unhappy with the parties.”

Akhilesh also broke his silence on seat sharing with RLD and confirmed to share three seats with the party. Reacting to this, senior RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary said, “Until there is an official statement, I will not comment. I don’t know what the occasion was and what was the context (in which the statement was made). We will decide how to collectively decide over making the announcement. We have already started work on our campaign.”

Asked if his party will agree on contesting three seats, he said, “When there are talks, there will be a solution. Then, we will make the announcement. Just wait for that.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)