'If need be even Mamata Banerjee and the Left could be brought together to stop Modi'
Ram Gopal Yadav, Samajwadi Party general secretary. (Photo: Deccan Chronicle)
The Samajwadi Party is keeping all options open, including the possibility of taking support of the Congress for a Third Front government. In an interview with Manish Anand, SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said that if need be even Mamata Banerjee and the Left could be brought together to stop Narendra Modi from becoming PM.
Three phases of election are over in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh. What is your assessment of the trend so far?
We are gaining ground. The first two phases had been good for us and the third phase was even better. We are hopeful of bagging majority of the Lok Sabha seats for which polling has been concluded. In the remaining three phases in the state, we will do even better.
Is the dream of your party to see SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as Prime Minister still alive?
We are hopeful of winning 40-50 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. The trend indicates that the regional parties would be bagging a majority of seats in large states. Therefore, the Bharatiya Janata Party will not come to power at the Centre; the Third Front will. And we are very optimistic that Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) will become the Prime Minister.
Reports suggest that the Left is losing ground in its stronghold. The Left is also the main proponent of the Third Front. Will your party revive ties with Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee, as was seen during the election for the post of the President of India?
In politics, no one is untouchable. We are clear that anything that needs to be done to stop the BJP from coming to power will be done.
Didn’t the Left extend support to the Congress during UPA-1 to stop the BJP from coming to power? It’s also possible that Ms Banerjee and the Left can come together with the sole motive of stopping the BJP. We can work in that direction. All that needs to be done will be done.
Your old friend, Amar Singh, is contesting Lok Sabha elections from Fatehpur Sikri for the first time. What are his chances?
But first Mr Singh went to Bijnore to campaign for Jaya Prada, who later came to Fatehpur Sikri. He spent half the time in Bijnore. He cannot live without Jaya Prada. And in the end he could neither campaign in Fatehpur Sikri properly nor in Bijnore. Neither he nor Jaya Prada is in real contest. They brought Bollywood celebrities like Sridevi in their constituencies and the people must have enjoyed watching celebrities.
Mr Modi filed his nomination from Varanasi and demonstrated his strength with a huge number of followers.
Did you see the dress that the people in the roadshow were wearing? Locals in Varanasi do not wear that kind of saffron dress. Most supporters were brought from outside. There would have been a few local BJP workers but mostly people were brought in a stage-managed manner.
But Mr Modi said he has come to Varanasi on the call of “Ma Ganga”.
Why Mr Modi does not say that the BJP brought him to Varanasi? He’s behaving like Bheeshma of Mahabharata. The BJP is a party known to play the emotional card. The BJP is made of those who can make even Lord Ganesha drink milk. They can say anything but in the end people will give them an answer. Mr Modi talks in a cunning way but he cannot take the people of Varanasi for a ride.
Why your party does not support a common candidate against Mr Modi in Varanasi?
We have fielded our own candidate from Varanasi. Kailash Chourasia is an MLA from Mirzapur and also a state minister in Uttar Pradesh. He will put up a strong fight against Mr Modi.
Your son Akshay Yadav is making an electoral debut from Firozabad Lok Sabha seat. But the BJP candidate, S.P.S. Baghel, from there is protesting after the polling, alleging that your party orchestrated large-scale rigging in many polling booths.
Mr Baghel had contested Lok Sabha elections from Firozabad earlier also from different political parties and lost twice in a row. He knows that he stands no chance in this election.
Therefore, he is making false claims and held a demonstration close to a place where EVM machines were kept. In fact, the Election Commission should take action against him and ban him from contesting elections in the future. He already has a number of pending cases against him, including electoral malpractice.
The ground reports from various parts of Uttar Pradesh suggest that there is resentment amongst the people against the Akhilesh Yadav government. The conditions of roads are much talked about.
Once the Lok Sabha election gets over, you will see road construction on a large scale.
Many projects are pending, which will be taken up after the monsoon rains.
Road construction is not taken up just a few months before monsoon. But the state government will significantly improve the condition of roads after the election.
Will the Election Commission ban, which prevents your party leader Azam Khan from campaigning, affect the prospects of the party as he is seen as a prominent Muslim face?
There is a large-scale resentment among the people against the ban on Mr Khan. The anger among the people will translate into votes for the SP candidates. The party and Mr Khan have replied to EC notices. We are hopeful that the ban from campaigning will soon be lifted.
How do you assess the prospects of the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh?
The SP will win most of the Lok Sabha seats, which the Congress had won in the 2009 elections. The BSP is nowhere in the contest. The fight in Uttar Pradesh is only between the Samajwadi Party and the BJP.
Next Story
