BJP backs Mulayam, asks Akhilesh to explain 'unbalanced' alliance

Dubbing the alliance of the Samajwadi Party and Congress as 'unbalanced', the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday backed party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav's assertion and asked Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to 'explain' the tie-up.

"Mulayam has just said the truth. This is unbalanced alliance. Question should be asked to Akhilesh Yadav as to what is the reason behind the alliance with a party which has lost its grounds not only in the state but the entire country," BJP leader Mahesh Sharma told ANI.

Taking a jibe at the prolonged rift in the Yadav family, Sharma said

the Samajwadi Party is tarnishing the relation of a father-son and uncle-nephew, adding that the people of Uttar Pradesh would not fall into the trap of this drama.

Expressing his anger over the newly-formed alliance of the Samajwadi Party and Congress, Mulayam yesterday said the party has the capability to win the elections without any support.

"Our party has the capability to contest this election without any support. I am confident that it would have marked victory had it contested alone," he added.

He asserted that he would not campaign for the alliance in the assembly elections.

"I am against the alliance formed between the Samajwadi Party and Congress. I will never acknowledge this alliance. The Congress was in power for so long, but it did not do anything for the development of the country. I will not campaign in this election," Mulayam told ANI in an exclusive interview.

Mulayam further lambasted Akhilesh for going against his wishes and jeopardising the chances of his own party members.

Uttar Pradesh will be voting for a new state assembly in a seven-phase election between February 11 and March 8.

Out of the 403 assembly seats, the Congress will be contesting in 105 seats and the Samajwadi Party will field its candidates in rest of the 298 seats.