No Alliance with Congress, BSP; Migrants to Play Crucial Role in 2022 UP Assembly Polls: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said there would be no alliance with either the Congress or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections.

Stating that migrants would play a key role in the next poll battle as they are unhappy with the Yogi Adityanath’s led government, Yadav said his party may stitch alliances with small outfits to ensure representation of all sections of society.

“There is a clear thinking among Samajwadi Party workers that there should be no pact with any big political party. Rather, we will be focussing on tie-ups with small political outfits,” Yadav said in an interview with News18's Kishore Ajwani.

“The migrants who have come back to the state will play a crucial role in the 2022 elections. At the moment, they feel the government did not do anything for them. Now, the government is saying that they will give face masks and sanitisers to the migrants, rather than focus on providing them food and job,” he added.

When asked about the entry of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the state’s political landscape making it a multi-cornered contest, the SP president said, “She is working and should continue to work for the people of the state.”

The Samajwadi Party had contested 2017 UP Assembly elections in alliance with the Congress, but had failed to achieve the desired results. Soon after, the two camps parted ways though no formal announcement of it was made till now.

For the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, SP had forged alliance with Mayawati-led BSP and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

As part of the grand alliance, the Samajwadi Party had fielded candidates in 37 of the 80 seats in the state, while the RLD had contested from three seats. The two seats of Amethi and Rae Bareli were left for the Congress.

However, the SP managed to bag only five seats, while the BSP got 10 seats in its kitty. The Congress’ Sonia Gandhi won from Rae Bareli, while BJP’s Smriti Irani’s defeated Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.

Soon after, Mayawati called off the alliance and blamed the SP for the poor show, even as Yadav maintained a graceful silence.