Akhilesh meets Mayawati after Priyanka Gandhi’s surprise visit to Bhim Army chief

Lucknow, Mar 14: Hours after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad at a Meerut hospital, the political atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh has suddenly got charged.

According to the reports, Mayawati is allegedly upset with Priyanka's meeting with Chandrashekhar and is likely to announce the names of candidates from Amethi and Raibareli, from where Rahul and Sonia Gadhi contest.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati at her home. When contacted, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said the two leaders met to discuss joint public meetings and rallies, being planned for the Lok Sabha polls, news agency PTI reported.

The meeting which lasted for about an hour and a half might have witnessed talks about seat share and other relevant strategies for elections.

Meetings are being held constantly as the election is round the corner and the poll campaign has to be launched full scale after Holi next week, he said.

The alliance has left two seats for the Congress in the state and will honestly support it on them, said Mr Chaudhary.

After the meeting, Akhilesh tweeted: "Ek mulaqat mahaparivartan ke liye (A meeting for change)".

A senior Samajwadi Party leader, who did not wish to be named, claimed Priyanka Gandhi's visit to Chandrashekhar Azad was in reaction to the BSP president ruling out any alliance with the Congress, news agency PTI said.

"But Mayawati is not someone who will yield to any kind of pressure. This alliance will not come under pressure. It has already given two seats to the Congress," he added.

Mayawati had Tuesday snubbed the Congress by slamming doors on it for any electoral alliance for the Lok Sabha polls anywhere in the country.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) recently forged an alliance on to divide the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state. As per the deal, the Akhilesh Yadav's party will contest 37 Lok Sabha seats in UP and the Mayawati's party 38, leaving three for the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal and two for Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections begin on April 11. The votes will be counted on May 23.

PTI