Lok Sabha 2019: When Akhilesh Yadav met Mayawati to discuss 'Mahagathbandhan,' all is not well for Congress in UP
As 2019 Lok Sabha Election is approaching, Uttar Pradesh's Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati met in Delhi to discuss a Mahagathbandhan on Friday to dethrone Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) from the power in the Hindi heartland state. The duo leaders, once bitter rivals but now allies in Uttar Pradesh are upset with Congress and do not want it as the part of their alliance.
According to NDTV, the alliance will have room for smaller parties. The final decision on seat-sharing will be taken after January 15. Chaudhary Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal or RLD is likely to get three seats in the grand alliance.
As Gandhis has a strong hold in Amethi and Raebareli, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati do not intend to field any candidate from the respective seats. In recent Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Congress had a massive win but SP’s only lawmaker in Madhya Pradesh did not make it to new Chief Minister Kamal Nath's list of ministers., Akhilesh Yadav indicated the payback last week.
"Thanks to the Congress, they did not make our vidhayak (legislator) a minister," Akhilesh Yadav had told reporters last week. By doing so, the Congress had "cleared the path for Uttar Pradesh," he had said.
Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati are expected to meet again next week, sources said.
First published: 5 January 2019, 11:33 IST