MP: Akhilesh's Aggressive Campaign for SP in MP Polls Raises Eyebrows

BHOPAL: Aggressive campaign by Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for his party candidates in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh has raised many eyebrows in political circles here.

A section of Congress here is viewing the move by Mr Yadav as a strategy aimed at teaching the grand old party a lesson for dumping SP after starting negotiation for seat sharing with it for the November 17 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.

“The seriousness demonstrated by Mr Yadav to fight the ensuing assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh has surprised us. Never in the past, the SP had marshalled its resources and manpower to run its campaign in the polls in MP as it had done in this election”, a senior Congress leader told this newspaper here on Thursday, requesting not to be quoted.

The SP has fielded its candidates in 68 assembly seats in the regions of Bundelkhand, Gwalior-Chambal and Vindya in Madhya Pradesh bordering Uttar Pradesh in this poll.

“SP had launched a campaign blitzkrieg in Madhya Pradesh by fielding its star campaigners including the party supremo Mr Yadav, and other senior leaders such as Dimple Yadav, Shivpal Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav.

The party leaders had held no less than 90 election rallies and three dozen road shows in different parts of these three regions”, senior SP leader Yash Bharitya told this newspaper.

The SP chief himself had held 25 election rallies to drum up support for his party candidates, while his wife Dimple addressed three public meetings.

In the 2018 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, SP fielded its candidates in 42 seats and won in one seat.

SP had come second in six seats in the last assembly polls.

According to Mr Bhartiya, the party had sought Congress to leave six seats in MP.

“Negotiation for seat-sharing between the two parties had also started. But, Congress dumped SP without even informing us”, he said.

The SP chief had taken the matter seriously and decided to go alone in the elections in MP, he added.

Congress veteran Digvijay Singh has earlier said that he wanted Congress to forge alliance with SP by leaving the regional party four seats in MP.

“But, I don’t know why the talks between the two parties have failed”, he has earlier said.

A Congress leader admitted that SP is in a position to damage poll prospects of both Congress and BJP candidates in a dozen seats in the polls.