No seat-sharing call with BSP yet: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that there was no decision on seat sharing with the BSP for 2019 Lok Sabha elections and it would be discussed at an ‘appropriate time’. The former UP Chief Minister’s remark came amid reports that Mayawati-led BSP was demanding 40 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats in the State for the 2019 Parlaiment elections.

“Whatever seats are to be given will be decided once the talks proceed. We will discuss at an appropriate time. Whatever is being reported regarding seats is only in newspapers. We have not discussed anything. We ‘Samajwadis’ have a big heart,” said Akhilesh. The SP chief also alleged that ‘the (communal) fire which engulfed Kairana in 2013 was doused by the people there by voting against the BJP’. On Assembly polls in other states, Yadav said, “The SP will contest all seats in Madhya Pradesh and is also preparing for polls in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.” Regarding possibilities of a BSP-Congress tie-up for Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, Akhilesh said, “I have no information on this. If they are talking (for an alliance in MP), it’s good. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst in politics,” Yadav said.

Aklhilesh said that as far as the SP was concerned, his party has decided to contest all 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh and preparations were underway.

The SP chief also said that his party was prepared for 2019 polls and the process was on for selecting prospective candidates. Attacking the BJP, Akhilesh alleged that the party distracted public attention from ‘core issues’ before an election. On the success of alliance in Gorakhpur, Phulpur, Kairana Lok Sabha and Noorpur Assembly bypolls, Akhilesh said, “The anger of people is visible from these results which indicate that people are looking at an alternative against the BJP as the latter believes more in speech than in action,” he said.

The SP chief termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s road show on Delhi-Meerut Expressway near Kairana on the eve of the bypoll on May 27, an attempt to influence the election.

“Despite all out attempts, the BJP failed to succeed in Kairana and Noorpur. It is the defeat of divisive politics played by them. People have given a befitting reply to the BJP in bypolls,” he said.

Terming the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as ‘crucial’, Akhilesh said that he expected that the elections would be held early and simultaneously with Assembly polls of some states.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh took to cycling on city streets for the third consecutive day. On Tuesday, he pedalled along with his son and daughter and also visited Hanuman temple in Hazratganj.