Lucknow, January 13: A day after Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati announced their alliance in Uttar Pradesh for 2019 general polls, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSPL) founder Shivpal Singh Yadav on Sunday said that if Congress wants to alliance with PSPL, we are ready because Congress is also a secular party. Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav Announce Seat-Sharing Pact For 2019 Lok Sabha Elections: 'BSP, SP to Contest 38 Seats Each in Uttar Pradesh'.

Shivpal Yadav, while speaking to the news agency ANI, on alliance with Congress, said, "Abhi humari baat toh nahi hui hai lekin jitne bhi secular party hain, Congress bhi hai, agar Congress humse sampark karegi, humse baat karegi, toh main bilkul taiyaar hu (Till now we haven't contacted earch other but if any secular party, including Congress, wants to alliance with us we are ready)."

On Saturday, Yadav said that the SP-BSP alliance is incomplete without PSPL. "This alliance in incomplete without Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party, only a secular front can defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," Yadav said while speaking to ANI.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party announced that they will fight together in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. In a press conference they said both SP and BSP will be sharing 34 seats each, leaving two for Congress in Raebareli and Amethi, out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 13, 2019 06:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).