Akhilesh says BJP leaders want to switch sides, Yogi hits back
LUCKNOW: A day after announcing an alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for this year’s national elections, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Sunday that their tie-up had “demoralised” Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) leaders and workers, who now wanted to join the grand alliance.
The former Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief ministers announced on Saturday that their parties will contest on state’s 38 Lok Sabha seats each, leaving two for the Congress and two for other smaller allies. UP sends 80 MPS to the Lower House, the highest in the country.
“The top leadership of the BJP and its entire organisation has lost hope after the SP-BSP alliance. Now, BJP’S booth-level workers are saying my booth is shattered. BJP’S demoralised leaders and workers are restive and desperate to join the SP and BSP,” Akhilesh tweeted in Hind.
The BJP maintained the alliance between the erstwhile political rivals will have no bearing on the elections . Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said the BSP-SP alliance reflected “casteist mentality” and consisted of “anarchic elements”. “…This alliance will have no impact on the politics of the state. It is good that both these parties have come together. It will help us to effectively wipe them off,’’ he said.
Uttar Pradesh’s urban development minister, Suresh Khanna, said the SP-BSP alliance was one born out of “selfinterest”.
“The leaders of both the parties have forged this alliance in their own interest… as they cannot contest the parliamentary election on their own.”
Khanna added the alliance was likely to be short-lived, akin to the “mega alliances” of the past.
“The Congress had supported Deve Gowda [in 1996] and Chandra Shekhar [in 1990], but on both the occasions, it [the alliance] was for a very short time. Only Narendra Modi can provide a stable government and SP and BSP are well aware of this fact,” he said.
(With agency inputs)