New Delhi: Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday pointed out that his party is backing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rather than Congress in Delhi, as AAP is in a stronger position to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming assembly election in February.
Akhilesh Yadav explained that the decision to back regional parties, where they are in a stronger position to challenge the BJP, is based on the core principle behind the formation of the INDIA bloc.
Yadav said, “We must rally behind whichever party is strong and in a position to give a fight to BJP. In Delhi, AAP and Congress are contesting against each other… My suggestion is AAP is strong so we should all support it. After all, our common goal is the win against BJP, whether it is Congress, Samajwadi Party or AAP.”
The Samajwadi Party, AAP, and Congress are members of the INDIA bloc, which also comprises other regional heavyweights such as the TMC in West Bengal and the DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Yadav, who is an MP from Kannauj, contended that the unity among INDIA bloc parties remains strong. “The INDIA alliance is intact. I recall when the alliance was being formed, Nitish Kumar spoke to leaders from all parties, including ours. He stressed that we should support regional parties wherever they are strong. AAP is strong in Delhi, so we are backing it,” Yadav pointed out.
The SP chief linked the BJP’s political agenda to the Home Ministry’s case against Kejriwal over the alleged scam connected to the cancelled Delhi excise policy. “Wherever they are in power, they rule in a dictatorial manner,” he said.
Question mark over INDIA bloc’s unity
Questions were raised over alliance unity within the INDIA bloc after its partners TMC and the SP supported the AAP over Congress for the Delhi assembly elections.
Moreover, in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena (UBT), an INDIA bloc ally, opted to go it alone in the elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s richest civic body. On Tuesday, NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar said that top leaders of INDIA bloc will sit together in 8-10 days to decide on its stance in the local body polls. He also added that the bloc was formed to fight only national elections. Alliance leader Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also recently said that the anti-BJP alliance was meant to fight only national polls.
