After Mayawati's Tirade, Akhilesh Yadav's Message For Congress: 'Take All Parties Together'
Akhilesh, who has been a proponent of a mahagathbandhan or a grand alliance to take on the BJP in 2019, said the Congress needs to take immediate steps towards forming an all-Opposition alliance.
New Delhi, October 3: In what is being considered as a turning point in the upcoming elections to state assemblies and the Lok Sabha, BSP chief Mayawati announced her decision of not joining a Congress-led alliance. Following her tirade, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav also sent a message to the Congress.
Akhilesh, who has been a proponent of a mahagathbandhan or a grand alliance to take on the BJP in 2019, said the Congress needs to take immediate steps towards forming an all-Opposition alliance. Winning the confidence of smaller parties and allies is essential, he added. Mayawati Says No Alliance With Congress, Blames Digvijaya Singh For Sabotaging Pact.
"Congress must take all parties together. The mahagathbandhan should soon be formed and the BJP must be defeated in 2019," Akhilesh said.
Walking a middle line, the SP chief neither condemned the Congress nor the BSP over the fallout of their alliance talks. "Congress is a responsible party and I know BSP won’t take any decision under pressure," he was reported as saying.
Earlier in the day, Mayawati addressed a press conference in Lucknow confirming her decision to contest alone in the upcoming Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. In Chhattisgarh, her party has tied up with Congress rebel and former chief minister Ajit Jogi.
Mayawati said the Congress intends to "finish" the BSP by entering into a pre-poll pact. "I don't doubt the honesty of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, but other leaders of the Congress would sabotage the alliance," she said.
Specifically hitting out at Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh, the BSP president accused him of being an "agent of the BJP-RSS" and indirectly benefiting them in poll-bound states.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2018 06:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).