New Delhi: Ruling out an alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Saturday alleged Akhilesh Yadav does not want Dalits in this coalition but just wants Dalit vote bank.
“After all the discussions, I felt in the end that Akhilesh Yadav does not want Dalits in this alliance, he just wants Dalit vote bank,” said Azad, ANI reported.
The Bhim Army chief also alleged that the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister “humiliated” the people of Bahujan Samaj.
“I tried for one month three days but the alliance could not happen,” he said.
Azad’s remarks came a day after he met the Samajwadi Party chief amid speculations that the two would join hands for the high-voltage electoral battle in Uttar Pradesh.
The meeting assumed significance as it took place after OBC leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini resigned from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Cabinet and joined the Samajwadi Party on Friday.
With less than a month left for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, five BJP MLAs, including Bhagwati Sagar (Bilhaur in Kanpur), Roshanlal Verma (Tilhar in Shahjahanpur), Vinay Shakya (Bidhuna in Auraiya), Brijesh Prajapati (Tindwari in Bahraich) and Mukesh Verma (Shikohabad in Firozabad), also joined the Samajwadi Party.
Apna Dal (Sonelal) legislator Amar Singh Chaudhary too joined the Samajwadi Party.
Voting for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly will be held in seven phases from February 10 to March 7. The counting of votes will be held on March 10.