Lok Sabha polls: We will leave 2 seats for Congress, says Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow, Jan 11: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said that not more than two seats would be left for the party in the SP-BSP alliance plan for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

"We can give the Congress two seats in Uttar Pradesh they have always held," Akhilesh Yadav told NDTV, but refused to give a direct answer on whether the alliance between the SP and BSP for the general election due by May would include Rahul Gandhi's party.

According to reports, the SP-BSP alliance would not field any candidates at Rae Bareli and Amethi, the bastions of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati have called a joint press conference tomorrow at noon at a five-star hotel in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow.

"Our [BSP and SP] coming together has not only created fear in the BJP but also in the Congress," Yadav said at a public meeting in Kannauj.

The Samajwadi Party chief said the alliance would get the electoral math right in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the Bharatiya Janata Party would be defeated. His statement came a day ahead of his press conference with BSP chief Mayawati, where they are expected to make a formal announcement about the tie-up.

"Last time we had come together in the Lok Sabha bye-elections and BJP had lost the seats [earlier held by] Chief Minister Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya," Yadav said.

In a recent interview to Gulf News, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said, "There are very interesting things that the Congress party can do in Uttar Pradesh... the Congress idea is very powerful for Uttar Pradesh. So, we are very confident of our ability in Uttar Pradesh and we will surprise people," he said.

Uttar Pradesh sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. In the last parliamentary elections in 2014, the BJP won 71 seats, Samajwadi Party got five while the BSP did not win any seat.