Akhilesh Yadav says BSP-SP will fight 2019 elections together
In an NDTV interview, Akhilesh Yadav confirmed Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will form an alliance for 2019 general elections. Yadav said he was willing to take two steps back for this alliance and would welcome the idea of 'broader national alliance' raised by Mamata Banerjee and others. Mayawati-led BSP's crucial support during Lok Sabha by-polls had led to SP's win.
'Alliance is important to defeat BJP in 2019'
In another interview to IANS, the former UP CM said, "Both parties are walking ahead, hand in hand, to achieve a larger national objective of defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is detrimental to both the state and the nation."
After Mayawati's public counseling, Yadav commits to 'going an extra-mile'
In the interview, Yadav stressed on going an extra mile. This comes after Mayawati chided him for not making "every sacrifice" to ensure BSP candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar's win in Rajya Sabha polls. She wanted Yadav to ensure Ambedkar's win, even if it meant SP's Jaya Bachchan lost, she indicated. But Mayawati didn't pull the plug on the alliance.
BSP-SP alliance worked wonders in bypolls
SP was able to snatch the Gorakhpur seat from Yogi Adityanath and Phulpur from Keshav Prasad Maurya in bypolls. The alliance will contest for 13 seats in the UP Legislative Council polls on April 26. Yadav has cleared he won't be contesting.
