A day after the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati expressed her willingness to work with other anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parties, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday stated that his party was not averse to being part of such a front.
The remarks by the two leaders have provided strength to the possibility of their parties joining hands or becoming a part of a larger anti-BJP alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Mr. Yadav said he had welcomed the idea of an alliance even before the election results. “In the days to come, the Samajwadi Party will play an important role in any political alliance that is formed. The real election is in U.P.…it has 80 seats,” Mr. Yadav told reporters here during a party event.
On Friday, Ms. Mayawati, in her Ambedkar Jayanti speech, stressed that she no longer had any reservations in “taking help of or joining hands with” other anti-BJP parties in her “struggle” against the alleged tampering of Electronic Voting Machines, and against the BJP in order to “save the democracy in the country.”
Mr. Yadav also raised the issue of alleged EVM tampering and said the Election Commission should explain it. He said he had a “firm belief” in ballot papers and hoped future elections would be held through them and not EVMs.
Reflecting on his party’s loss in the U.P. Assembly election, Mr. Yadav said that while his politics of development did not bear results, the “glue of Hindutva and nationalism” did a good binding work for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-BJP, which won by “deceiving” voters. “We were viewed with the lens of religion and caste. The RSS spread false propaganda that the SP is a party of only Yadavs, and does appeasement and builds graveyards,” Mr. Yadav said.
He dismissed these allegations, pointing out that his wife Dimple Yadav was from a different caste. The SP chief also accused the BJP for raking up religious sentiments to polarise elections.
“Perhaps, the BJP does not even consider us Hindus. Now, every morning, when I go to the temple, I will tweet a picture [to prove I am a Hindu]. I can also change kurtas daily and wear different colours on different days of the week,” Mr. Yadav said in a lighter vein.
SP’s membership drive
Mr. Yadav launched a two-month-long membership drive for his party — till June 15. The campaign would also be conducted through missed call and online systems. Around three lakh primary members had signed in on the first day, said SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said.
