Chandigarh, Apr 19 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said his party will return to power in Uttar Pradesh after next year’s assembly polls and expressed confidence that the opposition alliance will remain united.
Yadav, who was in Rewari for a wedding ceremony, targeted the BJP, saying it is going to lose the assembly polls being held now — including in West Bengal.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines, Yadav responded to a question about the possibility of contesting the Uttar Pradesh polls in alliance with Congress and said, “INDIA bloc will remain, we will have Congress with us.” He added, “With us, the issue is not about the number of seats; it’s about winnability. Those who can win will get the ticket.” Earlier in the day, the Samajwadi Party chief, speaking at the party headquarters in Lucknow, said that the BJP-led NDA has no right to remain in power at the Centre because its failure to get a Constitution amendment bill passed in the Lok Sabha to tweak the women’s quota law has shown that it didn’t represent the will of the people.
Later in the evening, Yadav said in Rewari that the BJP is going to lose the elections badly in the states where polls are happening now. “It is natural that the one who loses in the House (Parliament) also loses outside,” he said.
Further, replying to a question about the possibility of having an Ahir regiment, Yadav said he has always been in favour of creation of the regiment in the Indian Army.
“And not just the Ahir regiment, there should also be a Gujarat regiment because fewer people from Gujarat join the Army. It will motivate and inspire people from the state to join the armed forces,” he remarked.
On the women’s reservation issue, he said the women’s quota bill had already been passed, but when the BJP realised that it will not have the numbers, it notified the earlier bill overnight.
“BJP calls opposition anti-women. In reality, BJP is anti-women,” Yadav said.
“A party that never made a woman its chief and gave the ‘nari’ slogan only when it needed votes now stands exposed,” Yadav said. PTI SUN PRK
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