Everyone, including Cong ready for polls: Akhilesh

Not ruling out chances of early elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said all parties, including Congress, are ready for the Lok Sabha polls.
"Look, all parties are ready. And when I look at the ads in newspapers, I feel even Congress is also ready (for early polls)," he said, when asked if he saw possibility of early general elections.
On Samajwadi party skipping last night's dinner on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the UPA-II government, he said, "We once attended the dinner while at another time it was cancelled. Regarding last night's dinner you better ask Netaji (SP supremo Mulayam)," he said.

The UP CM was addressing a press conference here after inaugurating the UP Bhawan building in Navi Mumbai.
Asked if relations between Congress and SP today were not like what used to be earlier, he said, "Our support (to UPA) is only to keep communal forces at bay."
"But we have put forth our views on issues like corruption and inflation. We Samajwadi people are never in agreement with Congress policies. But when it is a question of tackling communal forces, we support Congress," he said.

"On whether the support will continue or not, our party's national executive and Netaji (Mulayam) will decide," he said.

On the third front, Akhilesh said, "wherever there are non-Congress governments, their Chief Ministers will try to ensure that maximum members of their party get elected to Lok Sabha...Be it Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. So no one can rule out this possibility. After all, politics is based on situations and numbers," he said.
Akhilesh said his priority would be to expand and strengthen SP in other regions, especially in Mumbai and Maharashtra and lauded the contribution of people of UP origin living in Mumbai in ensuring Samajwadi Party's victory in elections.