Forged alliance with BSP to ensure 'netaji' wins LS polls with record votes: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has said he forged an alliance with the BSP so that his father Mulayam Singh Yadav can win with "record votes" from whichever seat in Uttar Pradesh he chooses to fight the Lok Sabha polls.

His comment came days after SP patriarch Mulayam Yadav -- popularly known as 'netaji' -- expressed "displeasure" over his son's decision to enter into a tie-up with the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

"I have made the alliance with the BSP so that 'netaji' can win with record votes in the state from wherever he contests the Lok Sabha polls," Akhilesh told PTI in an interview.

Mayawati and Akhilesh had jointly announced the alliance in January, saying the BSP and the SP will contest 38 parliamentary seats each out of the 80 in Uttar Pradesh.However, when the parties released the list of seats shared between them, the SP got 37 seats and the BSP 38.

When asked about Mulayam Yadav's statement last week in which he sought to know the basis for "giving away" 38 seats to the BSP, Akhilesh said, "When I was going to address a press conference to announce the alliance with the BSP, I had met 'netaji' and took his blessings."
Following the seat-sharing announcement, SP patriarch Mulayam Yadav had said,"Now, we have only half the seats left. Our party was stronger."
On the distribution of tickets, Akhilesh said, "The seats which we are going to contest is final. Now, the list of party nominees will be finalised soon. We have already identified candidates. There is no problem in it."
Several times, decisions in politics are taken keeping in mind equations. "Our ticket selection was on for a year, and we got 40 applications, the maximum, from those interested to contest from Amroha, 32 candidates applied for Jaunpur seat.We will take a decision accordingly," he said
"I have left Mathura seat for the RLD as they had field their candidate in the bypolls in Kairana from a SP ticket. This is an understanding between the SP and the RLD," he said
On the SP-BSP alliance's objective, Akhilesh said, "Our fight is to save the Constitution and fight those who have taken two oaths, one of government and the other of the RSS. We decided on an alliance as our goal was one -- to remove the BJP and change the prime minister."