https://sputniknews.in/20221229/opposition-unity-in-disarray-samajwadi-party-chief-likens-congress-to-bjp-298962.html
Opposition Unity in Disarray? Samajwadi Party Chief Likens Congress to BJP
Opposition Unity in Disarray? Samajwadi Party Chief Likens Congress to BJP
Sputnik India
Congress and its partners are trying to unite all opposition parties ahead of the 2024 national elections that are about 14 or 15 months away. 29.12.2022, Sputnik India
2022-12-29T18:29+0530
2022-12-29T18:29+0530
2022-12-29T19:12+0530
political affairs
india
indian national congress (inc)
rahul gandhi
bharatiya janata party (bjp)
samajwadi party
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In what seems to be a setback to opposition unity, former Uttar Pradesh state chief and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday likened Congress to the federally ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)."If you have an invitation on your phone, please, send it to me," Yadav told reporters. "Our sentiments are with their yatra [pilgrimage]," the 49-year-old politician said, adding: "I have received no invitation."Yadav's comments came after reporters quizzed him about whether he would be taking part in Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra ("Unite India March") which is being spearheaded by former Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The pilgrimage touted as Congress' largest public demonstration since independence, entered Delhi last weekend. It is now resting in the capital and will resume on 3 January when it moves to the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh.Indian Opposition Divided?Yadav's party's distancing itself from Congress doesn't augur well for the opposition, as the Samajwadi Party is the BJP's main opposition in Uttar Pradesh. In the assembly polls held in March this year, the BJP became the first party to return to power in India's most populous state after more than 35 years by winning more than 255 seats in the 403-member legislature. The Samajwadi Party and its allies won 125 constituencies and Congress could only claim victory in two seats.Moreover, Yadav and Gandhi have shared a strong bond in the past, with the duo campaigning extensively for candidates during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh state polls when Congress and the Samajwadi Party were allies.But the alliance performed miserably in the elections winning only 54 seats. Since then, Yadav's party has maintained a distance from Congress. The two parties even contested this year's state polls against each other. Interestingly, the Samajwadi Party fared much better than last time when it was allied with Congress.
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Opposition Unity in Disarray? Samajwadi Party Chief Likens Congress to BJP
18:29 29.12.2022 (Updated: 19:12 29.12.2022) Congress and its partners are trying to unite all opposition parties ahead of the 2024 national elections that are about 14 or 15 months away.
In what seems to be a setback to opposition unity, former Uttar Pradesh state chief and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday likened Congress to the federally ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"Our party has a different ideology. The BJP and Congress are the same," the Samajwadi Party chief said in a press conference in the state capital Lucknow.
"If you have an invitation on your phone, please, send it to me," Yadav told reporters. "Our sentiments are with their yatra [pilgrimage]," the 49-year-old politician said, adding: "I have received no invitation."
Yadav's comments came after reporters quizzed him about whether he would be taking part in Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra ("Unite India March") which is being spearheaded by former Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Earlier reports suggested that Yadav, along with two other key opposition leaders, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) leader Kumari Mayawati and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) boss Jayant Chaudhary, had been invited by Congress to join Gandhi's march in Uttar Pradesh.
The pilgrimage touted as Congress' largest public demonstration since independence, entered Delhi last weekend. It is now resting in the capital and will resume on 3 January when it moves to the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh.
Indian Opposition Divided?
Yadav's party's distancing itself from Congress doesn't augur well for the opposition, as the Samajwadi Party is the BJP's main opposition in Uttar Pradesh.
In the assembly polls held in March this year, the BJP became the first party to return to power in India's most populous state after more than 35 years by winning more than 255 seats in the 403-member legislature.
The Samajwadi Party and its allies won 125 constituencies and Congress could only claim victory in two seats.
Moreover, Yadav and Gandhi have
shared a strong bond in the past, with the duo campaigning extensively for candidates during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh state polls when Congress and the Samajwadi Party were allies.
But the alliance performed miserably in the elections winning only 54 seats.
Since then, Yadav's party has maintained a distance from Congress. The two parties even contested this year's state polls against each other. Interestingly, the Samajwadi Party fared much better than last time when it was allied with Congress.
