Lucknow: The renewed activism of Congress in Uttar Pradesh under Priyanka Gandhi is making other opposition parties such as the Samajwadi Party restless.
Naresh Uttam Patel, Samajwadi Party leader and state president told media in Jalaun on Sunday: “The Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin and both have an understanding. The people of the state understand that the alternative of Yogi Adityanath is only Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. In such a situation, the BJP has a well thought out strategy to create confusion in the votes of the opposition.”
Many in the opposition camp feel the increasing activism of the Congress is primarily because Priyanka wants to put the Congress in a position in UP where the party can bargain on seat-sharing with other parties.
However, Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu rejects this theory, saying. “The Congress, being the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, is trying to become the voice of the people. The party workers are going from fighting on the streets to going to jail for the issues of the people. Since Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into active politics, the Congress is on the front foot in the state, while SP-BSP are silent due to the fear of the CBI and ED.”
The party is continuing with its protest on Lakhimpur issue with a silent protest led by Priyanka in Lucknow on Monday outside Raj Bhawan. The Congress is pressing for the removal of the Union Minister of State for Home.
Significantly, in the 2017 UP assembly elections, the Congress party had forged an alliance with Samajwadi Party but things didn’t work in their favour as the Congress bagged only seven seats while SP was reduced to 47 seats. At the same time, even after Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into politics in the Lok Sabha elections last year, the Congress was reduced to one seat in UP. The Amethi Parliamentary seat of Rahul Gandhi was snatched from the hands of the Congress. In such a situation, the importance being given to Congress by the BJP government may also be a reason for weakening the SP and BSP in the state.
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