Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that the defeat of the BJP in the two lok Sabha bypolls has forced the State Government to pursue the agenda of development.
Addressing mediapersons in lucknow, Akhilesh said, “One good outcome of the BJP’s drubbing in the recent by-polls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur is that now Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would at least talk about development.”
In yet another blow to the BJP after its embarrassing defeat in the recent by-polls, labour minister Swami Prasad Maurya’s son-in-law Naval Kishore joined the Samajwadi Party on Saturday. Kishore joined the SP in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Azam Khan.
Criticising the BJP, the SP chief said that development process in the State has come to a grinding halt after the BJP came to power in March, 2017. He said that Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) during the Investors Summit were signed to stem the plumetting popularity of the BJP Government in the last one year.
Commenting on the Rajya Sabha elections, Aklhilesh said that fielding of an additional candidate by the BJP will only lead to corruption and horse trading. The SP chief however refused to comment on the possibility of a possible SP- BSP-Congress alliance.
Taking a jibe at the BJP over their humiliating defeat in recent by-polls, Akhilesh said that BJP’s ‘pakoda’ politics led to its defeat in Gorakhpur and Phulpur.
“Except Demonetisation or GST implementation, there is nothing that the BJP had done for the ‘development’ of the people,” he said.
On being asked if the SP will continue its alliance with the BSP in future, Akhilesh stated that he always respected Mayawati as her ‘bua’ (paternal aunt) and their relationship was better.
“We will visit mandir, masjid and all religious places to maintain our alliance with her,” Yadav added.
Questioned on shifting to national politics, Akhilesh said that he was satisfied in Uttar Pradesh. “Please do not send me to Delhi. I do not aim big for myself. I only aim big for development.” When asked about the future of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, the SP chief said,” Yogi ji has good speed. He will take over PM Modi one day.”
On his part, Azam Khan said, “People are asking how an SP-BSP alliance was even possible. People who question this alliance probably do not like it. The SP-BSP alliance will go a long way.”
Khan said that the two parties most definitely had their differences but if some could spend their lives entire lives with strangers, so could the Samajwadi Party.