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SP, Congress will find out a way to ally for UP bypolls soon, says Akhilesh
Akhilesh Yadav hinted at a potential Congress alliance for UP bypolls, while asserting SP's strength and criticizing BJP for recent riots and corruption.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said an alliance with the Congress party for the bypolls to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh was on the cards.
“Nominations are underway. It’s a matter of discussion between us and the Congress, and we will find out a way soon,” he said while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his cousin and former MP Tej Pratap Yadav filing his nomination papers for the Karhal assembly seat.
The party is yet to field its candidates for Ghaziabad Sadar, Khair (Aligarh) and Kundarki. While it might announce its pick for Kundarki soon, the party was likely to leave the other two for the Congress, people familiar with the matter had said.
Akhilesh claimed that Tej Pratap would win the election hands down, and noted that the people of Karhal and Mainpuri had always supported the SP and its founder late Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The SP chief also dismissed any challenge from the BJP, saying the “PDA family” representing the “pichre” (backward classes), Dalit and “alpashankhak” (minority) would ensure his party’s success.
“BJP leaders are grabbing land the most today; corruption and loot are rampant in the BJP regime...” he said.
Referring to the recent communal violence in Bahraich, Akhilesh accused the BJP of deliberately inciting riots to divide people ahead of the elections.
“Everybody knows the BJP is behind the [Bahraich] riots as elections are on around the corner. Why weren’t their ample security arrangements?” he added.
On the postponement of the Milkupur bypoll, he remarked, “The government replaced BLOs (booth level officers) with officers of their choice. Even after the CM going their many times, they (the BJP) were losing Milkipur in their internal survey.”
Tej Pratap will be contesting the upcoming bypoll in Karhal after the latter vacated the seat post his election as the MP from Kannauj.
Tej Pratap filed his papers in the presence of Akhilesh, SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, SP MLA Shivpal Yadav, SP MP from Mainpuri Dimple Yadav, SP MP from Azamgarh Dharmendra Yadav and others. Earlier, he went to the Samadhi Sthal of late Mulayam Singh Yadav in Saifai and offered floral tributes.
Also, Shivpal Yadav showed confidence and stated that Tej Pratap would win from Karhal “hands down”.
