Lucknow: Two days before elections results would be announced in Uttar Pradesh, voices of dissent have started emanating from the ruling Samajwadi Party with the senior ministers questioning the wisdom behind the alliance with Congress.
Cabinet Minister Ravidas Mehrorta has questioned the alliance with Congress while senior party leader Mohamnad Azam Khan sais that Mulayam’s second wife Sadhna Gupta should not have given any political statement. Mr Khan even said if SP lost the election, Akhilesh Yadav was not to be blamed.
The exit polls have shown that the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance would come second to Bharatiya Janata Party. “The alliance with Congress was a big mistake. The Samajwadi Party has not gained a bit. It is Congress which stands benefited from SP,” Ravidas Mehrotra said.
To justify his point he said that only any alliance could be successful if there was vote transfer. In case of SP-Congress alliance the SP was able to transfer its votes to Congress candidates but vice-versa did not happen. The Congress number will swell at the expense of the Samajwadi Party, he said. “I again reiterate that we should not have gone for the alliance,” he said.
He has contested this election from Lucknow Central on SP ticket. The Congress had also fielded Maroof Khan from this constituency. There is a murmur in Mehrotra camp that Vidhayak ji might lose because of Congress candidate.
However, Mohammad Azam Khan made a veiled attack on Sadhna Gupta, the second wife of Mulayam Singh Yadav and said that she should not have given a statement before the last phase of election. “I am confident that Samajwadi Party-Congress will form next Government in UP. If SP fails to make through, Akhilesh should not be blamed for the defeat. There are other reasons too,” he said and added: “I still feel SP-Congress alliance will form the next Government.”
A couple of days back, Sadhna Gupta had told a private news channel that Akhilesh was very arrogant and should not have dis-respected Mulayam Singh Yadav. Khan did not elaborate on Sadhna Gupta's statement but said the timing of the statement was wrong. (UNI)
