Guwahati: The president of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Mamata Banerjee and the chief minister of West Bengal on Monday said that an alliance between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh could have prevented anti-Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) votes from being split in the upcoming assembly elections.
Banerjee at the Kolkata airport on Monday afternoon before leaving for Lucknow stated, “It would have been good if the Congress and Samajwadi Party had fought unitedly. The votes would not have split. We requested but they (Congress) did not listen.”
She will spend two days campaigning for the SP. “I’m a supporter of Akhilesh Yadav. He extended an invitation to me. I’m rooting for him to win. He’s got the infrastructure in place. “I want the BJP to lose,” Banerjee stated.
Polling for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly will be held in seven phases starting February 10. The votes will be counted on March 10.
The TMC will not run in the Uttar Pradesh elections, but would run candidates in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, according to Banerjee.
“In Uttar Pradesh, I am not going to contest assembly polls but I am going to support Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav. We (TMC) will contest from Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” she said, reflecting her national ambitions for the next general elections.
However, when Banerjee arrived at Lucknow airport on Monday evening, the SP leader greeted her.
Taking to Twitter, Akhilesh said, “Had defeated (BJP) in Bengal together, now will defeat (them) in UP. It is my promise to Didi, we will win again. Warm welcome and greetings to Didi in UP!”
Earlier in the day, Akhilesh unleashed a stinging attack on the state’s ruling BJP, claiming that Yogi Adityanath’s party “cheats people, makes them fight each other, and its leaders lie.” He also demanded that the BJP’s name be changed from “Bhajpa” (the Hindi abbreviation for the party) to “Bhajhpa,” explaining that the “jh” in the name stood for “jhansa” (cheating), “jhagra” (bickering), and “jhooth” (lies).
The bigger the BJP leader, the bigger the lies they tell, Akhilesh alleged. “They indulge in the politics of accusations. The BJP wants to take the elections to somewhere else,” he told reporters referring to the upcoming state polls.
The SP head further denied any connection between the money confiscated from a Kanpur perfume seller during a central agency operation and his party. “Nothing could be more deceitful than this.” “People in high places are lying,” he claimed, presumably alluding to Union home minister Amit Shah, who has consistently connected the stolen funds to Yadav’s party.
Akhilesh also claimed that women in Uttar Pradesh were feeling uneasy under the BJP’s administration, claiming that the National Commission for Women had received the majority of complaints from the state.
Akhilesh further stated that the state has the highest number of in-custody deaths. “We saw how the son of the Union minister of state for housing and urban development drove a jeep over farmers.” The administration is attempting to protect him. “The government intends to demolish the Constitution as it has crushed the farmers,” Akhilesh remarked, referring to the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.
It may be mentioned Ashish Mishra, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra was arrested last year for the deaths of four farmers who were mowed down by cars reportedly operated by BJP workers.
Meanwhile, union minister Smriti Irani , slammed Akhilesh, alleging that his outreach to Banerjee, who had “insulted” the people of Uttar Pradesh, shows he is “not getting people’s support on his own strength.”
Addressing a poll programme in Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Jewar, the BJP leader said, “I want to ask Akhilesh ji, what has happened now that you want support of those who had forgotten the glorious past of this state and openly insult the residents of the state. What compulsion do you have?”