Akhilesh Yadav: Congress will get zero seats in upcoming UP elections

At yatra on Friday, SP chief spoke about a possible alliance with Bengal CM

File photo of Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.

Image for representation purpose.

(Photo : PTI)

Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav said he might be open to throwing his weight behind an alternate political front led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a Vijay Yatra in Jhansi on Friday, reported NDTV.

According to the report, he told journalists, “I welcome her. The way she wiped out the BJP in Bengal… the people of Uttar Pradesh will wipe out the BJP.” He added, “We will speak about it when the time is right.”

Talks of a possible tie up arise as both the parties take jabs at the Congress. Yadav who was in alliance with the Congress in the previous assembly elections, said that the Congress will get zero seats in the upcoming elections. This came a day after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at Yadav, saying that he ran a ‘jaativaad’ (casteist) and ‘gundayi’ (criminal) government.

He told The Indian Express during the yatra, “The Congress is not in competition this time. They are here only for advertisement. It is possible that they may get zero seats in UP this time.” Hinting that the upcoming elections would be indicative of the 2024 general elections, he said, “it is natural because UP is the biggest state. This state has given the Prime Minister, President and Defence Minister. The maximum number of BJP MPs are from UP. The results of UP will be important for the country’s politics.”

On Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee attacked the Congress, saying that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a coalition that she was part of, did not exist anymore. Referring to Rahul Gandhi, she said that if someone stayed abroad ‘half the time’, they would be bowled out by the BJP.

(with inputs from NDTV, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times)