INDIA bloc to continue in UP Assembly polls in 2027: Akhilesh Yadav

Amid speculation about the disintegration of the INDIA bloc, Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav said that the alliance will continue in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 2027.

 

Addressing a press conference in Prayagraj, Yadav attacked the BJP by accusing it of "grabbing land like a mafia" through the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

 

"The BJP has brought the Waqf Amendment Bill so that it can snatch away land. Wherever they see land, they occupy it."

 

He further said, "The PDA (Backwards, Dalits and Minorities) is going to uproot" the BJP in the 2027 state polls.

 

Yadav also criticised the BJP's handling of the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, promising a probe into "mismanagement" if his party comes to power.

 

The SP chief claimed the government provided inaccurate figures regarding casualties and financial gains during the event.

 

"When drones and CCTVs were needed the most (at the time of the stampede), they were either closed or were shut down," he claimed.

 

Yadav also accused the government of pressuring the relatives of stampede victims to change the cause of death.

 

Meanwhile, Yadav provided journalists with a booklet of his suggestions for the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh 2025, originally posted on social media, and a Harvard University study on the 2013 Prayagraj Kumbh Mela.

 

He was in Prayagraj to attend the wedding of SP state president Shyam Lal Pal's daughter.

 

Notably, the Lok Sabha 2024 elections saw SP register its best-ever performance, winning 37 seats in UP, while its alliance partner Congress won another six seats, taking the alliance's total tally to 43. It came as a massive setback to the BJP, which had expected to win a thumping majority in the state.

 

(With inputs from PTI)