Akhilesh lauds TRS chief for 'striving hard' to form federal front

Lucknow, Dec 26: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Wednesday lauded TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for "striving hard" to form a federal front of regional parties ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He also accused the BJP's Central and state governments of failing to fulfil their promises and claimed that the people are not happy with them.

"I will soon go to Hyderabad to meet Rao, who is striving hard to bring the regional players together on a common platform," Yadav told mediapersons here. Lauding the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supremo's efforts to form a federal front to take on the BJP in the general elections next year, he said, "I spoke to Rao and we were supposed to meet on December 25-26. But somehow it could not take place. Now I will see him in Hyderabad."

The TRS chief, who is in Delhi since Monday night, plans to meet Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati. Rao met his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Sunday and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday in Kolkata wherein he discussed with them, among other issues, the formation of a non-Congress, non-BJP front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

To a question on including the Congress in any alliance to take on the BJP unitedly, Yadav expressed displeasure over the Samajwadi Party's lone MLA in Madhya Pradesh not being made a minister in the Kamal Nath-led government.

Though the Congress, with 114 seats, emerged as the single largest party in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly, it failed to cross the halfway mark (116) on its own and enlisted the support of the BSP and the SP, which have won two seats and one, respectively.

However, no MLA from the Mayawati-led BSP or the SP was given place in the Cabinet. Responding to another question, the Samajwadi party chief said, "In the days to come, who all will join hands with the SP, who all want to come, all options are open."

Hitting out at the saffron party, Yadav said, "The BJP has deceived the common people. They only made tall promises but have done nothing on the ground for the people. Four-and-a-half years' rule of the BJP at the Centre too stands exposed now."

PTI