Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, on Wednesday, asserted that the INDIA bloc was intact and his party was supporting the Aam Aadmi Party over the Congress in Delhi assembly election.  He said the SP was supporting AAP as Arvind Kejriwal’s party was stronger and the common aim was to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“Strengthening the hands of regional parties wherever they are strong and in a position to fight the BJP is the basic principle behind the formation of the opposition alliance,” Akhilesh Yadav told media persons. He was in Haridwar to immerse the ashes of his uncle Rajpal Yadav in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri.

“The INDIA bloc is intact. I remember, when the alliance was being formed, Nitish Kumar had talked to leaders of all parties, including ours. He had said at the time that we should strengthen the hands of a regional party wherever it is strong. AAP is strong in Delhi, so we are supporting it,” the SP chief said after the ritual.

“We must support whichever party is strong and in a position to give a fight to the BJP. In Delhi, AAP and Congress are facing each other... My advice is AAP is strong so we should all support it. After all, our common goal is the defeat of BJP, whether it is Congress, Samajwadi Party or AAP,” Akhilesh Yadav said.

Asked for his response on the Union Home ministry granting sanction to the Enforcement Directorate to prosecute AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy linked money laundering case, Yadav said the BJP governments work like that. “Wherever they are in power they rule in a dictatorial manner,” he said.

Akhilesh Yadav said he would visit the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj whenever “Mother Ganga” calls him.

“Ganga is one from Haridwar to Gangasagar... I took a dip in the Ganga in Haridwar yesterday (Makar Sankranti),” he said.