Lucknow, January 12: Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav addressed a joint presser in Lucknow on Saturday, briefing the minutes of the seat sharing between the two parties in the alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2019. Under the pact, Mayawati confirmed that both SP and BSP would contest 38 Lok Sabha seats, while leaving two seats for Congress in Raebareli and Amethi. Also, two seats would be left for other possible parties in the alliance.

Stating clearly that the alliance is historic and would give BJP and company a sleepless night, Mayawati accused the latter a party working only for the welfare of capitalists and is anti-farmers. She said, “We (BSP-SP) have decided to contest upcoming Lok Sabha elections together, this will lead to a new political revolution in the country.” Uttar Pradesh: SP-BSP Alliance Will Knock Out BJP in Lok Sabha Elections 2019, Says Akhilesh Yadav, Watch Video

Regarding the seats sharing formula, she stated, “BSP will contest on 38 seats, SP on 38 seats. Two Lok Sabha seats we have left for other parties and Amethi and Rae Bareli have been left for Congress.”

Stating the reason for not including Congress, she said, “Be it BJP or Congress, whoever rules, their policies are mostly the same. For example, we see how both indulged in corruption in defence deals. Congress imposed declared emergency, today there is undeclared emergency.”

She further added, “Moreover, we won't gain anything by including Congress in our alliance. Both BSP and SP have experienced in the past that Congress's vote is not transferrable.”

Sharing similar opinion, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the SP-BSP alliance is not electoral but to end the cruelty of BJP. He said, “The last five years of BJP has brought hardships for the people. In the land of Lord Ram, the BJP has tried to promote hatred and divide the people on communal lines.”

Speaking on the need of alliance, Yadav said, “To defeat the arrogance of BJP, it was necessary for BSP and SP to come together. BJP can go to any extent to create differences in our workers, we must be united and counter any such tactic. We will fight against the communal hatred spread by the BJP.”

The SP chief accused the BJP of indulging in petty politics and state that BJP can stoop to any length to create problems between BSP-SP. He said, “The BJP can stoop to any length to create problems between BSP-SP. I assure that our alliance will bring down the BJP and that this alliance will only get stronger.”

Accusing the BJP-led Central government of anti-people policies like GST and demonetisation, Mayawati said that with these policies, people had suffered a lot and the BSP-SP alliance will give a befitting answer to these people.

The alliance between the two political masters of the Uttar Pradesh – Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav – is seen as the biggest merger of 2019. With Lok Sabha Elections just months away, the alliance between can play the significant role in shaking the entire arithmetic of national parties – eying for the top post of Prime Minister.

For the first time in over a decade, the Bua-Bhatija (Mayawati-Akhilesh) combo is going to test the electoral soil together. Though the motto of the opposition parties coming together is fighting against BJP, it looks like a loss for Congress president Rahul Gandhi who is yet to make a move in Uttar Pradesh –m which sends 80 representatives to the Lok Sabha.

Taking the lessons from the defeat in 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, former chief minister and SP president Akhilesh Yadav had opined that he – combined with Mayawati – would wipe out BJP from the state. He had said that though he was ‘hesitant earlier’, now he has found the ‘glue’ after the successful trial and tested formula of alliance with BSP in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls. Due to these parties like BJP and Congress have already started their homework for the General election, scheduled in April-May, 2019.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 12, 2019 12:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).