Both BJP, Congress are ‘steeped in corruption’, say BSP and SP leaders, leaving Rahul Gandhi-led party out of alliance.
Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) announced their alliance for the coming Lok Sabha polls in their first-ever joint press conference in Lucknow Saturday afternoon.
BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, both former UP chief ministers, announced a 50-50 seat-sharing deal, and said out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, each party will contest 38.
In the 2014 LS polls, while the BSP failed to open its account, the SP managed only five seats.
‘Tie-up with Congress not beneficial’
Mayawati confirmed that the Congress is not a part of the alliance.
She said that in case of a tie-up with the Congress in the past, the party did not benefit.
“In the past I have seen that our votes get transferred to the Congress, but not vice-versa. We do not gain from alliance with Congress, whereas vote transfer is perfect in SP-BSP tie-up,” Mayawati said.
Drawing a parallel between the BJP and the Congress, Mayawati said the Congress had imposed the Emergency while the BJP is responsible for an undeclared Emergency.
“The Congress is unpopular with all sections. Both Congress and BJP are steeped in corruption,” she said.
The BSP and the SP, however, will not contest from Amethi and Rae Bareili, the Congress pocket boroughs.
BJP responsible for an ‘undeclared Emergency’
Addressing the media along with Akhilesh, Mayawati said, “This press briefing will give sleepless nights to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (BJP president) Amit Shah.”
Drawing a parallel between the BJP and the Congress, Mayawati said the Congress had imposed the Emergency while the BJP is responsible for an undeclared Emergency.
Akhilesh said, “The alliance will counter the BJP’s religion and caste politics in the state”
For long arch rivals in Uttar Pradesh, the parties said they were coming together in a bid to defeat the BJP, which, together with its allies, won 73 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014.
Last year, the SP-BSP combine wrested two BJP strongholds in the Lok Sabha bypolls — Gorakhpur, the former constituency of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and Phulpur.
(With inputs from PTI)