Akhilesh Yadav hopes to expand SP-BSP alliance in Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll

Fresh from success, the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday broadly hinted to expand the BSP-SP pool to rope in support of more parties in order to repeat their Lok Sabha bypoll performance in the forthcoming bypoll in Kairana Lok Sabha constituency in Western Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav said that although the Election Commission was yet to announce dates for Lok Sabha bypoll in Kairana, he hoped that the opposition unity experiment will further consolidate in days to come.

The Kairana Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the death of BJP MP and former minister Hukum Singh. Election Commission may announce dates for by-polls on the vacant Lok Sabha seat in next 20 days.

“We have good relations with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and once we make friends we never go back,” said he hinting that the support from the Congress will also be tried to rope in broaden the non-BJP alliance. The RLD had already supported the Samajwadi Party in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-polls.

Talking to media after inducting former BSP MLA Irshad Khan, ex-MLC Pradeep Singh, Nawal Kishore, son-in-law of BJP Cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya and Big Boss winner Ashutosh Kaushik, Yadav took a dig at the Chief Minister Yogi Aditayanath saying that he was now talking of development soon after the defeat.

“By-poll results in Gorakhpur and Phulpur were a referendum on the popularity of the Modi and Yogi governments. Both the governments did not live up to people’s expectations by making false promises,” he pointed.

“Unemployment is on the rise and when youth hit the roads to demand jobs, they are lathicharged. Results of TET and recruitment in the police force are ready but the Yogi government was not declaring them for some unknown reasons,” charged Yadav.

Speaking on the occasion, the SP General Secretary Azam Khan was more open on the future alliance with the BSP in 2019. “We will respectfully share Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and contest together to defeat the communal forces. A common enemy has brought us together and we should not contest separately to allow  BJP win again,” pleaded Azam.