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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Peace Party may go alone, says party chief Ayub
Left with no other option after both SP-BSP alliance and the Congress have refused its bargain on seat-sharing, Peace Party chief Mohammad Ayub on Tuesday said the party may go alone in Lok Sabha 2019.
Left with no other option after both SP-BSP alliance and the Congress have refused its bargain on seat-sharing, Peace Party chief Mohammad Ayub on Tuesday said the party may go alone in Lok Sabha 2019.
“In politics, you have to remain relevant. No political party would entertain you if you lose your utility and bring no benefit to it,” said Ayub when asked about his talks with the Congress and the SP-BSP leaders.
“Consequently, we have decided to change our slogan from ‘Tabedaari to Hissedari’ (from being servants to stakeholders),” he said adding that they have not set their eye on short-term goals.
But despite failure of talks, Ayub said, his party would always side with anti-BJP forces to ensure the ruling party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Peace Party played a key role in united opposition’s win in parliamentary by-poll in Gorakhpur and Phulpur last year. In fact, the candidate for Gorakhpur was handpicked by me, he claimed.
Asked why then he was not given any seat in SP-BSP alliance or by the Congress, Ayub said, “I do not blame Akhilesh Yadav for not giving us any seat. He is a big leader and any leader takes a decision which is in his or his party’s interest.”
Ayub met Congress general secretary, in-charge of UP (West) Priyanka Gandhi twice but nothing concrete has emerged from the meeting so far.
A surgeon by profession, Ayub, however, said his party’s struggle for the downtrodden and neglected sections of the society would continue. The Peace Party contested 51 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, but could not open its account. It was founded in 2008 and recorded its best performance in the 2012 assembly elections, winning four seats.
