Akhilesh's biggest mistake was to join hands with Congress: BJP

Saffron party says had he not collaborated with Congress he'd still have lost, but not so badly

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), after sweeping Uttar Pradesh in the recent assembly polls, said on Monday that outgoing Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav led-Samajwadi Party's biggest mistake was to collaborate with the Congress Party which led to its downfall.

"Their (Samajwadi Party) biggest mistake was to join hands with the Congress. If Akhilesh wouldn't have collaborated with the Congress he would still have lost but not so badly," BJP leader Rahul Sinha told ANI.

"The public has supported a new India through its mandate in UP and Uttarakhand. We think both in Goa and Manipur, the BJP will make the government. We believe more support from other parties and candidates would come to the BJP," he added.

The BJP took 312 of the 403 assembly seats in U.P. and its allies another 13 seats; in Uttarakhand, it won 57 of the 70 seats at stake.

In Punjab, however, the Congress is coming to power after a gap of 10 years, with 77 of the 117 seats.

Goa and Manipur delivered fractured mandates as the Congress fell short of the halfway mark in both States. Meanwhile, the BJP has staked claim to form government in the two states with the help of coalition with regional parties.