Lok Sabha elections 2019: UP to see triangular contest as BSP-SP join hands

Congress left out of SP-BSP alliance as Mayawati and Akhilesh exude confidence about taking on BJP in 2019 and 2022

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BSP Chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav address a joint press briefing in Lucknow on Saturday, January 12, 2019. Photo: @ANI

Virendra Singh Rawat Archis Mohan Lucknow/ New Delhi

Last Updated : Jan 13 2019 | 12:10 AM IST

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday officially announced their tie-up in Uttar Pradesh, with the two former rivals agreeing to share 38 seats each in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, and kept the Congress out of the alliance. The two parties, however, will not field any candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareli, represented by Congress President Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, respectively.

At their much-awaited joint press conference at a five-star hotel in Lucknow, BSP chief Mayawati and SP’s Akhilesh Yadav conveyed to their supporters that the two leaderships had