Lucknow: Samajwadi president Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, on Sunday, further fortified their alliance when they held a joint press conference in Lucknow and assured that the political alliance was backed by their personal relationship.
The ease between the two leaders was evident as they hugged each other, exchanged notes, smiled and helped each other in facing uncomfortable questions about the rocky relationship between the two parties in the past.
“This is an alliance for PPP — progress, prosperity and peace — and we are here to give a reply to the politics of hatred and anger that is being practiced by the BJP. Akhilesh and I had a personal relationship and now we have a political relationship too,” said Mr Gandhi.
He also explained that there were similarities and differences between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party and both the parties would have to compromise on certain issues but these were not too big.
Terming the alliance as that of Ganga-Yamuna, Mr Gandhi said that the ‘Saraswati of progress’ would flow in Uttar Pradesh. “It is a people’s alliance,” he added.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that he and Mr Gandhi were now two wheels of the Samajwadi Party. “Agar cycle ko haath mil jaye to aur tez chalegi,” he said and added that all the people had waited for ‘achche din’ but none had come.
On the issue of Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigning for the alliance, Mr Rahul Gandhi said, “She is my sister and had always helped me tremendously and it will be her decision entirely is she wants to campaign. These are operational details which will be worked out later.” Mr Akhilesh also said that it was up to his wife Dimple Yadav to take a call on campaigning.
Mulayam Singh Yadav refuses to campaign, disowns pact
Even before the euphoria over the Congress–Samajwadi alliance could settle down, Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav struck a discordant note on Sunday night when he said that he did not approve of the alliance and would not campaign for the candidates.
In an interview to a news agency, he said that the Samajwadi Party was capable of contesting the elections on its own and there was no need for an alliance. “I have always fought against the Congress and now the party is moving away from its ideology,” he said.
“What will our leaders who have been denied tickets do now? Will they sit at home for five years,” he asked.
Mr Yadav was apparently upset at the fact that on Sunday itself, his trusted leader Narad Rai joined the BSP after being denied ticket by Mr Akhilesh Yadav.
