Rahul Gandhi: 'Respect Mayawati, Akhilesh but Congress will fight Lok Sabha polls with full might in UP'

After being 'left out' of the SP-BSP grand alliance, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he respects Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati but his party will fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, due in April-May, in Uttar Pradesh with full might.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi. PTI Photo

LUCKNOW: After being 'left out' of the SP-BSP grand alliance, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he respects the leadership of both the parties but his party will fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, due in April-May, in Uttar Pradesh with full might. Addressing a gathering of party workers and the media here after participating in Priyanka Gandhi's mega roadshow, Gandhi said he has given the responsibility of strengthening the Congress in UP to party general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia. "It's from Uttar Pradesh that the Congress began its journey and it cannot remain weak here. It's your responsibility that the Congress comes to power in the state," Gandhi told party workers. "The SP-BSP alliance is also contesting here. I have repeatedly said that I respect Mayawati ji and Akhilesh ji but the Congress will fight elections with full might. It will fight for its ideology and for the people of Uttar Pradesh," Gandhi said at the end of four-and-a-half hours roadshow. Lat month, Once arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party had announced their tie-up in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, sharing 38 seats each and keeping the Congress out of the alliance. The parties, however, said they would not field candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareli, represented by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Using a cricket analogy, he said the Congress will play on the front foot and not on the back foot in the state. Reteriating his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said the 'chowkidar' has failed to provide employment to the youth of this country and urged people to oust the BJP from power. "Uttar Pradesh has witnessed what Narendra Modi did for the last 5 years in the country. Youth are saying that Modi failed his promise to provide employment and benefited only people like Anil Ambani. "Modi ji said he wants to be a 'Chowkidar'. The truth has now surfaced that he conducted parallel negotiations in the Rafale deal. The clause that enabled investigation in case of corruption, was waived off by him," Gandhi said. Gandhi said Congress workers must fight the electoral battle with issues that concern the youth, farmers.  "The hollow promises of Modi have come to light. There is no dearth of issues. Congress party will fight to transform UP and the nation. Uttar Pradesh's youth, farmers, Dalits and the poor, all want a progressive government and the ruling BJP has failed on this front," he said. "This is an ideological battle. On one hand there is the Congress ideology of love, harmony and brotherhood. On the other, there is BJP-RSS ideology of dividing and weakening the nation," he further said.