BSP Chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Monday told the Congress not to create any confusion in Uttar Pradesh by offering to leave seven seats for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance. Mayawati said that the Congress was free to contest on all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
“The Congress is free to field its candidates in all 80 seats even in Uttar Pradesh and contest on its own. Our grand alliance is capable of defeating the BJP on its own. The Congress must not create any confusion by leaving seven seats for the grand alliance (comprising the SP, the BSP and the RLD),” she tweeted.
This came after the Congress announced over the weekend that it had decided to not field candidates in seven seats for the grand alliance. Speaking to reporters in Lucknow on Sunday, UP Congress chief Raj Babbar said that the seats left by his party were Mainpuri, Kannauj, Firozabad and ‘whatever seats Mayawati ji and RLD’s Jayant (Chaudhary) ji and Ajit Singh contest from.’
In a separate tweet, Mayawati wrote, “The BSP would like to make it absolutely clear that we have no alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh or anywhere in the country. Our supporters should not fall victim to rumours spread by the Congress.”
बीएसपी एक बार फिर साफ तौर पर स्पष्ट कर देना चाहती है कि उत्तर प्रदेश सहित पूरे देश में कांग्रेस पार्टी से हमारा कोई भी किसी भी प्रकार का तालमेल व गठबंधन आदि बिल्कुल भी नहीं है। हमारे लोग कांग्रेस पार्टी द्वारा आयेदिन फैलाये जा रहे किस्म-किस्म के भ्रम में कतई ना आयें।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) March 18, 2019
Quoting Mayawati’s tweet, Akhilesh too wrote, “The alliance of the SP, BSP and the RLD is capable of defeating the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress must not try and create any confusion here.”
The Congress’ decision to not try and stitch an alliance with the BSP, the SP and the RLD is being seen as a major blow to its Lok Sabha poll prospects. What has left political analysts surprised is that while the Congress is willing to go to any extent in forming an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party for just seven seats in Delhi, it has refused to show similar enthusiasm for an alliance with the grand alliance partners in Uttar Pradesh for the state’s 80 seats.