Seat sharing to be discussed at appropriate time, says Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said there was no decision on seat sharing between his party and the BSP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and that it would be discussed at an "appropriate time".

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister's remark come amid reports that the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is demanding 40 out of the total 80 seats in the state for the next year general elections.

"Whatever seats are to be given will be decided once talks proceed. We will discuss at the appropriate time. Whatever is being reported regarding seats is only in newspapers.

"We have not discussed anything. We 'samajwadis' (socialists) have a big heart," he told PTI in an interview, his first after the Kairana bypolls in which the joint opposition candidate trounced the BJP's nominee, snatching the seat from the ruling party in the state.

RLD's Tabassum Hasan polled 4,81,182 votes in the bypoll, while BJP's Mriganka Singh got 4,36,564 votes, a difference of 44,618 votes.

The SP chief also alleged that "the (communal) fire in which Kairana burnt was doused by the people there by voting against the BJP".

On assembly polls in other states, Yadav said, "The SP will contest all the seats in Madhya Pradesh and is also preparing for polls in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand."

"Regarding possibilities of a BSP-Congress tie-up for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, he said, "I have no information about this."

"If they are talking (for an alliance in MP) it's good. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst in politics," Yadav said.

He said as far as the SP is concerned, the party has decided to contest all the 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh and preparations are underway.

The SP chief also said that the party's was prepared for the 2019 polls and the process was on for selecting prospective candidates.

Attacking the BJP, he alleged that the party distracted people from "core issues" before an election.

Discussing the success of alliance in the Gorakhpur, Phulpur, Kairana and Noorpur Lok Sabha bypolls, Yadav said, "The anger of people is visible from these results."

"The results also show that people are looking at an alternative against the BJP, which believes more in talking and less in working," he said He termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's road show on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway on May 27 near Kairana an attempt to influence the by-election.

"Despite all out attempts, the BJP failed to succeed in Kairana and Noorpur. It's defeat of the divisive politics played by them. People have given a befitting reply to the BJP in the bypolls," he said.

Terming the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as "crucial", he said he expects that the general elections will be held early and simultaneously with assembly polls of some states.