Amidst talk of a grand alliance (mahagathbandhan) to defeat the BJP in 2019 lok Sabha elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that he would like to be the next Chief Minister of UP than dreaming of becoming the Prime Minister of India.
Akhilesh had recently offered to play second fiddle to the BSP to ensure a grand alliance against the BJP and also announced to contest the 2019 lok Sabha poll from Kannauj.
"I have no dream of becoming Prime Minister of India. I cannot dream of becoming the PM, but can dream of taking the Expressway from lucknow further to Ballia and want to become the Chief Minister of UPagain,’’ said the SP president. The Assembly elections in UP are due in 2022.
"My name is not in the list of future Prime Minister of India, but I am from that state where this list is prepared,’’quipped Akhilesh while participating in a programme of a TV news channel.
Akhilesh said that he was not in the race for Prime Ministerial faces but asserted that the next PM could be from Uttar Pradesh. He also claimed that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi could dream of becoming the PM and asserted that his party would have to work hard for it.
“Rahul Gandhi has the advantage of dreaming big because he comes from a family that has given PMs to the country. There’s nothing wrong with it. But, Congress will have to work very hard to emerge as a serious claimant after the 2019 lok Sabha poll," he said.
Reiterating his commitment to play second fiddle to Bahujan Samaj Party for the sake of strengthening the grand alliance ahead of 2019 lok Sabha poll, Akhilesh said, "We will contest the general elections in alliance with the BSP and we are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of opposition unity.’’
Akhilesh stressed that the Samajwadi Party will contest the Assembly election in Madhya Pradesh on its own.
Claiming that the country needs a new PM, Akhilesh said, “My favourite for the PM’s post would be a person who is the country’s favourite after next year's elections.”
The SP chief also targeted the BJP over ending ties with Mehbooba Mufti’s People Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir. Akhilesh asserted that the BJP did so for political gains.
While replyingto a querry on how much would he rate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his work, Akhilesh said, “I would just say that UP has got a raw deal from the Modi government.” TheSP chief however lauded West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her work on infrastructure. "She has been repeatedly winning in the state because of the continuous good work she is doing," he said.
The former UP CM also said that regional forces would play a major role during the 2019 lok Sabha poll. “There will be change in 2019,” a confident Akhilesh Yadav said while adding that there was a lot of negative sentiment against the BJP.