Despite Samajwadi party bailing out Congress-led UPA at least thrice the relations between the two parties seems to be far from cordial as Mulayam Singh Yadav said Congress will not return to power "because it has ditched people" - thus hinting an early election.
He was more specific in a Holi Milan samaroh held at party office on Thursday when Yadav said that elections could be held in November. "The names of the candidates have been declared. The candidates should go and work in their kshetra," he said. UP, a home to 19 crore people, send maximum 80 MPs to lok Sabha.
Yadav’s attack on Congress has created a political flutter with opposition parties questioning dual strategy of Samajwadi Party. "It is nothing but hypocrisy. On one hand SP saved the UPA government after DMK’s withdrawal of support while in the other party’s senior most leader says Congress has ditched people. He even says Congress policies are anti-people. if the policies of UPA Government are anti-people why SP is supporting it," asks BJP state spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak.
The SP flip-flop however keeps Congress guessing. The Congress bashing seems to be part of political design as Samajwadi Party knows what it is doing. After an assurance from PMO to give special status to Bihar, Mulayam Singh yadav has used his promise to support UPA Government from outside as a hammer to beat the Congress.
"Congress has always played with the sentiments of the people. Before every elections they allure the voters by giving several sops but after the elections they do the reverse,'' he said in his native village of Saifai in Etawah district on Wednesday.
He continued with his diatribe: "''People are fed up with the UPA government particularly for its anti-people policies that include exorbitant increase in prices of essential commodities. People will teach Congress a lesson this time".
Yadav even predicted return of Third front after lok Sabha elections. "The Congress and the BJP will not be able to form government. The people will vote for regional parties this time. Jayalalita in Tamil Nadu, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal nd Naveen Patnaik in Orissa would emerge as the winners while Samajwadi Party will rule the roost in UP,'' he said.
Yadav said that UP would play an important role in the lS polls and its 80 lS seat would give the direction for the new government. "Go to the people and tell them about the achievements of Akhilesh Yadav Government. This Government as launched projects like Kanya Vidyadhan, unemployed allowance and distributed laptops to the classXII pass students," he said.
"This is the only government that has fulfilled promises within one year. The law and order is improving. The path to Delhi goes from lucknow. If we can get maximum seats from UP nobody can stop SP from calling the shots," he said.