AKHILESH OPEN TO MAYAWATI’S IDEA OF A COALITION AGAINST THE BJP
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said he was willing to be a part of any national coalition against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The statement comes a day after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said she was open to alliance with any party. Yadav also met West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee four days ago.
“The SP will play an important role in the formation of such an alliance. I have met all the party nominees who contested the UP assembly elections. My assessment is that the BJP managed to polarise voters on religious and caste lines and won the election by making false promises,” he said.
Akhilesh was talking to media persons at the launch of the party’s membership drive at the SP headquarters in Lucknow in which he, along with wife Dimple Yadav, took membership.
Criticising the ruling BJP government in the state for indulging in politics in the name of religion, he said: “Perhaps, the BJP thinks I am not a Hindu anymore. The situation is such that I have to now tweet a photo every time I visit a temple.” Yadav said he never believed in the politics of appeasement, caste or religion.
On the party’s poor showing in the polls, he said, “Some of our voters are still trying to figure out how the BJP won even though they voted for the SP.”
“It is for the Election Commission (EC) to explain complaints against faulty EVMs,” he said.
Reiterating the party’s demand to go back to the old system of ballot papers, Yadav said he was with all non-BJP parties which met the EC on the issue.