The streets of lucknow witnessed history on Sunday as the Congress and the Samajwadi Party started their ‘Vijay Abhiyaan’ for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls through a joint roadshow. It was flowers, rose petals and garlands all the way for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who took out a 12-km-long roadshow in lucknow to reflect the new-found bonhomie between the two parties.
Before kicking off the roadshow, the almost identically dressed Akhilesh and Rahul addressed their first joint Press conference, giving a call for crushing the BJP’s politics of “anger and divisiveness”. Reflecting camaraderie and personal bonding, the scions of the Congress and the SP showcased themselves as the two wheels of a bicycle that would work in tandem to take Uttar Pradesh on the path of progress.
However, just hours after the joint roadshow, SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav trashed the alliance and said he would not campaign for the alliance in the State Assembly elections. Noting that he had advised his son against entering into an electoral alliance with the Congress, Mulayam said it was most unfortunate that Akhilesh had done so in his quest to grab power. “Where will the workers who have worked hard in the past go for the next five years,” he said while expressing his regret once again that the SP had chosen to this course of action. “The 2012 poll was fought under my leadership and we got a majority.
I was to become the Chief Minister but I opted for Akhilesh and look what he has done,” he rued.
Earlier in the day, the two leaders atop the ‘UP Vijay Rath’ started the road show from the GPO park in Hazratganj after garlanding the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
The specially-designed Rath had pictures of Rahul and Akhilesh and the alliance’s catch line ‘UP ko yeh saath pasand hai’.
The road show covered some densely populated areas of the State capital spanning the old lucknow localities, which have a sizable Muslim population.
The meandering route was planned in such way that the message of the alliance reached a cross-section of people and a large section of the population.
When two the ‘achche ladke’ appeared on the deck of makeshift bus there was a roar of approval as the boisterous crowd shouted ‘Jai Akhilesh! Jai Akhilesh! Jai Akhilesh.’ Akhilesh tried to convey something from the top of the bus to his close aide Sunil Kumar Sajan who was walking with the bus. The words got drowned in the cacophony of slogan shouting, but Rahul smiled. He got hold of Akhilesh’s right arm and raised it skywards making a V sign.
As the Rath reached Mayfair crossing, hardly 300 meters from Hazratganj crossing, the crowd dominated by SP youth shouted “UP ko yeh saath pasand hai.”
Several women leaders of both the parties were very vocal in raising slogans for their leaders. Anjali, who came from Raebareli said, “I am here for Rahul Gandhi. He is our leader. After alliance SP and Congress will form the Government in UP.”
Both the leaders addressed over a dozen whistle-stop meetings. Rahul specifically targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for demonetisation of the high value currency notes. Rahul said the move was to benefit the industrialist friends of the Prime Minister while it caused huge hardships to the common people.
“Modi runs his Government alone. He does not hear anybody but speaks his ‘Mann ki baat’. His demonetisation move forced poor people to stand in queues outside banks. Holders of black money, which is with 50 families only, were not seen in any queue,” he said.
Akhilesh besides criticising the note ban and the divisive politics of the BJP also targeted his arch rival Bahujan Samaj Party. He also listed the achievements of his Government in last five years and particularly the development works done in old city areas of lucknow.
Earlier, before the road show both Rahul and Akhilesh held joint Press conference to formally launch the alliance of the party in the UP Assembly polls claiming that they have made a political ‘sangam’ to take on the fascist forces led by Narendra Modi.
During the hour-long Press conference, the two leaders repeatedly invoked imagery of rivers coming together and Congress’ election symbol ‘Hand’ pushing SP’s ‘Bicycle’ towards progress and development.
“The alliance is the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna out of which the Saraswati of development will come out...We have similarities and differences too. We want to contest the elections on similarities and will also have to do some compromises...,” Rahul said.
“Yeh dil ka alliance hai, mil ke jeetenge (It is an alliance of heart, we will win together),” the Congress leader said.
Akhilesh said, “There is not much difference in age between us and today is the beginning. Rahul and I will take the State ahead on the path of prosperity.”
Rahul said the alliance was for three Ps, progress, prosperity and peace, to which the SP president added another P - people.
“I can say for Akhilesh that he has very clean intention and we support his clear intentions but he was not allowed to work. Akhilesh did his best to bring change in UP, the results were mixed, some target s were achieved and there were some short fall in some sectors but an honest effort was made,” Rahul said.
Using the Rsintention’ as political tool to target the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said, “Politics is conducted with clear intentions and RSS-BJP lack that. Narendra Modi is promising to fight the corruption and at the same time he is seen campaigning for the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal.”
Asked whether the alliance was facing teething troubles over seat sharing in Amethi and Raibareli districts, Rahul said, “Seat sharing is neither central or fundamental issue, it’s a peripheral issue. The bigger issue is change in UP. We are going to change UP by empowering youth and fighting the divisive politics of the BJP’’. He added, “The basis of the alliance is to prevent the divisive politics from flourishing in UP, not the seats of Amethi and Raibareli’’.
Replying to a question Rahul Gandhi asserted that the alliance was not a RsRsmarriage of convenience’ and it was borne out of the heart rather than the mind. RsRsBoth the parties will have to do some compromises in the spirit of give and take. There are certain minimum from the Congress side that the welfare of the poor and the farmers is non-negotiable for us and in the same manner Akhilesh has pointed out three four issues to us’’, said Rahul Gandhi.
He pointed out that RsRsduring the negotiations there was posturing from both sides. Akhilesh said something, I said something, he pretended to be angry and so did I. We used to communicate through SMS. These are all parts of negotiations. Media should not take this too seriously”. Rahul added RsRs posturing is the part of negotiations’’.
The two leaders ended the road show with a public meeting at the historic ‘Ghanta Ghar’ in the Chowk area of lucknow.
In the meeting at Ghanta Ghar, Rahul alleged that the BJP believes in ‘badla’ (vengeance) unlike the Congress and SP that
talks of ‘badlav’ (change).
“This alliance is of youths. We will change the State together and there would be a storm of development. BJP believes in ‘badla’ (vengeance), but we talk of ‘badlav’ (change),” he said.