A day after accusing his I.N.D.I. alliance partner Congress of ‘betrayal’, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav launched a fresh attack on the grand old party. Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at the his alliance partner for asking nation-wide caste census asserting that it was being done for political benefit. While participating in the Lok Jagran Abhiyan program in Hardoi, he asserted that it is a ‘miracle’ that Congress is ‘now’ asking for caste census.
Former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh also emphasised that Congress has now realised that voters in backward communities don’t support their party. He highlighted that it was the same Congress party which didn’t disclose numbers of the caste census while it was in power at the Centre. He added that his I.N.D.I. alliance partner is now supporting the demand for caste census only because “they won’t succeed” without the support of backward castes.
Akhilesh said, “…It’s the same Congress party that didn’t give the numbers of the caste census. It is a ‘miracle’ because now everyone knows that until and unless you don’t have the support of the backward castes you won’t succeed… It’s a miracle that now the Congress party wants a caste census. Congress party is now aware that the vote they were searching for is not with them anymore.”
#WATCH | Hardoi: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav says, "…It's the same Congress party that didn't give the numbers of the caste census. It is a 'miracle' because now everyone knows that until and unless you don't have the support of the backward castes you won't succeed…… pic.twitter.com/lG2C6N9Iz9
— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2023
Miffed with the Congress party over the denial of seats in Madhya Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav argued that it should have conveyed to him their decision beforehand. He added that if Congress continues to behave like this, nobody would be able to trust them.
He added, “If Congress didn’t want to give seats (in MP), then they should have said it before. Today, SP is fighting only on seats where it has its own organisation. Now after Madhya Pradesh, I know that the I.N.D.I. alliance is for the (parliamentary) elections on a national level. If Congress continues to behave like this, then who will trust them? If we fight with confusion in mind against the BJP, then we won’t succeed.”
The discord between I.N.D.I. alliance partners Congress and SP came to the fore when Congress party ignored Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav ahead of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.
Assembly election in Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to take place next month. Let alone giving the six seats that were promised, Congress did not allocate even a single seat to the Samajwadi Party that has left Akhilesh belittled and furious.
Following the development, the Samajwadi Party supremo declared that he would not have attended any meetings if he had known that there was no state-level alliance.
Meanwhile, SP also fielded its candidates on 31 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh. The strife between both the parties escalated, particularly after Congress’ UP President Ajay Rai requested SP to withdraw from Madhya Pradesh as it “did not have a base” there.
“The (Congress’) state chief has no authority. He was not there in the meetings held at Patna, Mumbai. What does he know about the INDIA alliance,” the SP supremo asked.
Akhilesh Yadav further observed, “These people from Congress are involved with the BJP. If I had known that the alliance is not on the state level then I would not have sent SP leaders to Digvijaya Singh. I would not have trusted them if I had known that people from Congress would betray us. Congress should not get statements made by their small-time leaders about our party.”
According to political experts, if the strife escalates further, SP could devise plan to play spoil sport for its I.N.D.I. alliance partner, Congress, in two key Lok Sabha seats, Rae Bareli and Amethi, jeopardising Congress’ prospects in these constituencies which were once considered its bastion.
