New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is open to an electoral alliance in a state “as big” as Uttar Pradesh, the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said amid speculation that AAP will tie up with the Samajwadi Party for the assembly elections to be held in early 2022.
In an exclusive interview to ThePrint, Singh said: “Whenever there is any talk about a political alliance, be it with Samajwadi Party, or Om Prakash (Rajbhar) ji, we will formally announce it.”
Singh’s comments came in response to a query about his meetings with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar.
“UP is a state with 403 assembly seats, it is a very big state… And in such a ‘caste state’, even BJP goes in for alliance, SP also forms an alliance and even Congress also does the same… BSP does it…” he said.
“That we won’t form any such political alliance and we are rigid about that… is not true at all. We don’t have a tiny heart. Our doors are open and we will also look into this but at the same time, for us, people’s issues are of utmost importance… and replicating Delhi’s governance model,” he said.
Singh visited Yadav’s residence on 3 July, sparking talks about a possible alliance between the two parties ahead of the elections.
Initially, the Rajya Sabha MP described the meeting as a casual visit, where they discussed the exploitative policies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, he has now indicated more to the meeting.
“I went to convey belated birthday wishes to him and also discuss the outcome of the zila panchayat elections, as well as the political atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh as well as the kind of muscle and money power that BJP is making use of in the state,” he said.
The AAP is seeking to make inroads in UP and Uttarakhand in the next round of elections and Singh is leading the party’s efforts so far.
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On AAP and SP’s similar stance
Last month, AAP and SP took similar lines on the alleged irregularities in the land deals linked to the Ram temple project in Ayodhya.
Singh said BJP leaders from the Union government as well as the state were gathering donations to construct the temple but the “fact that there were irregularities” emerged in the land purchase and it made sense for him as well as other parties to speak up.
“The work pertaining to the construction of the temple has been halted for a year and a half and so if AAP raised this matter in the media, or SP raised it, why didn’t RSS, BJP or VHP also take it up,” Singh said.
He said the incident meant raising voice against the BJP’s corrupt practice, and one must put out facts for the public to see.
Possible tie-ups
Earlier this month, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party will join ranks with smaller parties in the state in the run-up to the assembly polls. This was seen as an indication of a possible alliance with AAP.
In January, Sanjay Singh had also held meetings with Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, which also led to whispers about an alliance.
Asked about this, he said: “His (Rajbhar’s) outlook and concern over the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Scheduled Castes, especially after the BJP came into power, is something we spoke about when we met.”
He added that they also spoke about other unfortunate episodes, including the Hathras and Ballia rape cases.
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On UP government
Speaking about the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, Singh said the state’s performance during the Covid-19 pandemic was disturbing and the “corrupt practices” used by the regime only proved that real governance is yet to happen in UP.
“At this rate, I’m sure BJP will get less than 100 votes in the upcoming assembly elections,” Singh said.
“There was shortage of oxygen, no proper inquiry was carried out, rather there were fake certificates that were being distributed, testing results were delayed making people of UP feel as if they had been orphaned under Yogi Adityanath’s leadership,” said Singh.
He said the UP government can only build new burial grounds and not new hospitals and schools. “They will only spread hate and the amount people suffered during Covid in UP, no person in any other state must have faced the same level of trauma they did.”
In 2017, the ruling BJP had won 312 of the 403 seats while the SP got just 47 seats. Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party had secured only 19 seats.
‘AAP model’ in UP
According to Sanjay Singh, AAP’s priority is to take Delhi’s governance model to the state of Uttar Pradesh. He said the ideas of ensuring good education, health infrastructure, free electricity and providing employment will be on the party’s agenda.
Referring to the positive response in Punjab to the AAP’s poll promise of free electricity of up to 300 units, Singh said the party will consider announcing the same for UP as well at the right time.
“So, if we need to take help to achieve this model, our doors are definitely not closed,” Singh said, clarifying the party’s stance on political alliance ahead of the UP assembly elections next year.
On the challenges for a small party like the AAP to replicate its model in a big and politically crucial state like UP, Singh said it wasn’t impossible. “The budget of UP is much higher, amounting to Rs 5.5 lakh crore as opposed to only Rs 70,000 crore in Delhi… More of the money needs to go into health and education,” he said.
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