New Delhi, January 14: Days after Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav announced an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister Rajnath Singh took a swipe reminding the duo of the state Assembly poll results in 2017.

Expressing his opinion on the alliance between the two regional parties in the largest state – in terms of Lok Sabha seats – the Union Minister took a jibe on Monday and said, “Have they forgotten what happened in 2017 elections?” Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Tejashwi Yadav Backs SP-BSP Alliance in Uttar Pradesh, Says 'Our Motive is to Defeat BJP'.

Adding on, he claimed that BJP formed the government in Centre, under the leadership of Narendra Modi in 2019, even if the opposition form multiple alliance. Reminding the results of 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Singh stated, “They can form as many alliances as they want, but BJP will not win less than 72 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.”

Earlier on Monday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav met Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav to garner support against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and addressed a joint press conference. He said that both the parties are enough to beat the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections and the recently held by-elections are indicating the same. Tejashwi also met Mayawati on Sunday and congratulated her for the announcing the alliance with SP.

While announcing their formal alliance, Mayawati and Akhilesh held a joint presser in Lucknow on Saturday and said that both the parties would contest on 38 seats each, leaving Amethi and Raebareli for Congress and two for other alliance. Meanwhile, respecting the decision, Congress stated that they would contest from 80 Lok Sabha Seats in Uttar Pradesh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 14, 2019 06:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).