SP-BSP alliance is a tie-up of poor, workers, backwards, Dalits, and religious minorities, says Mayawati
Uttar Pradesh powerhouses Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, bitter rival turned partners-in-polls, today announced their mega alliance, delivering the first opposition front to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national election due by May.
"This press conference will give Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah sleepless nights," Mayawati began, after the two leaders smiled together for the cameras.
Nearly 25 years ago, Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), had an acrimonious falling out after their shaky coalition government in Uttar Pradesh crashed.
Last year, the two parties decided to team up for important by-polls that were prestige battles for the ruling BJP and found that together, they can be unbeaten.
After a successful dry run in three seats, including Yogi Adityanath's Gorakhpur, the two parties explored taking their alliance to the next level - the 2019 national polls. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will fight on 38 seats and Samajwadi Party (SP) on 38, while two seats have been reserved. Rest two, Amethi and Rae Bareli are for Congress.
Here are the highlights of the Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati joint presser:
This alliance is not a people oriented alliance. The only aim is to keep right wing parties away. People know both parties have in the past bitterly opposed each other and their coming together now is purely for electoral purposes without a definite development agenda: Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande
This is a ''gunaahbandhan'', which has been forged to cover up crimes, while attempting to save each other's identity. This is an alliance of opportunistic forces, who had thrown Uttar Pradesh in the fire of misgovernance, corruption and crime: BJP leader Mahendra Nath Pandey
This alliance is incomplete without Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party. Only a secular front can defeat the BJP: Shivpal Yadav on SP-BSP alliance
"Whether it is Congress's ''shehzada'', West Bengal's ''Didi'', Andhra Pradesh's ''Babu'' or Uttar Pradesh's ''Behenji'', they all wish from their heart (to be the Prime Minister), but after elections, all of them will stand against each other. None of them have the guts to stand in front of our leader on the topic of leadership": ANI quotes Arun Jaitley as saying at the BJP national council meet
Founder of Samajwadi Party will always be Mulayam Singh-Ji. Now he is totally cut off with this development. On the banners, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh won't be there together. It'll be only Akhilesh and Mayawati, 'bua & babua': Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh on SP-BSP alliance
Akhilesh Yadav hints at supporting Mayawati as a Prime Ministerial candidate"We are Samajwadis who are always together in sorrow and happiness. BJP can weave a conspiracy because of the alliance, riots and unrest might also be attempted. So I welcome the alliance again and assure that it will lead to the downfall of the BJP and its arrogant rule," Akhilesh said.
He further added that, "Uttar Pradesh has produced numerous prime ministers in the past. You know whom I will support. I will be happy if another prime minister comes from the state."
"The SP and the BSP have allied neither for the country nor for Uttar Pradesh, but for their survival. They know they cannot fight (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi on their own and their opposition to him is the sole base for their alliance," senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters in Delhi
BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi on the alliance
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on the alliance
Gathabandhan or Mahagathbandan, we will do better than 2014: Yogi AdityanathAfter the BSP-SP alliance was announced, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath at BJP National Convention in Delhi said, "Within 1.5 yrs, UP govt has given houses to 18 lakh poor individuals, irrespective of their caste or religion, under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Under SP govt, only 63,000 houses were built in 5 years of rule."
"To defeat the arrogance of BJP, it was necessary for BSP and SP to come together. BJP can go to any extent to create differences in our workers, we must be united," Akhilesh Yadav said.
"BJP is distracting people with religious issues, asking about their caste, religion Women are being disrespected," he added
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath reacts on the alliance
Mayawatijis Disrespect Will Be My Disrespect: Akhilesh Yadav"The alliance was on my mind since the day BJP leaders made obscene comments on Mayawati ji," Akhilesh Yadav said.
"My party workers from today should know that disrespect of Mayawati ji, will be my disrespect," he said.
"The last 5 years of BJP rule has brought hardships for the people. In UP, which is the land of Lord Ram, the BJP has tried to promote hatred, divide the people on communal lines. People are being killed in encounters. Patients at hospitals are admitted based on their castes," he said.
"Want to thank Mayawati ji for accepting this coalition. We have decided to join hands to wipe out the BJP from UP. The BJP has made UP only about caste and they should understand that our alliance is not for political reasons, but we will also fight against the communal hatred spread by the BJP," Akhilesh Yadav said.
Mamata Banerjee Welcomes the Alliance
Why we have not included the Congress: Mayawati
Attacking the Congress, she says that the grand old party has lost deposit in by-elections. Despite being at Centre and in many states, corruption and poverty was quite rampant everywhere. Congress and BJP at Centre are one of the same things. A large number of scams, including Bofors, Rafale, took place while the BJP and Congress governments were in power.
People In UP Upset With BJP: Mayawati "The people in UP are upset with the policies of the BJP. Our alliance has tasted success in the bypolls elections in the state. The success of our alliance can help stop the BJP from forming the government at the Centre," the BSP chief said
"Around the 1990's , the BJP's casteist and communal agenda over the Ayodhya issue came to the fore and the people were too affected and in a similar situation, right now 1 crore people in UP are fed up of the dictatorial attitude of the BJP state and central governments."
"In 1993, the then BSP chief Kanshi Ram and Mulayam Singh Yadav contested together and won the UP polls. The BSP is determined to follow in the footsteps of Dr BR Ambedkar and give the same results this time," says Mayawati
Addressing the press conference, Mayawati said, "As you all know, today SP-BSP's national president's press conference is something that will rob sleep from BJP, Amit Shah, PM Modi."
With the intention to further this agenda, we first allied with the SP in 1993 to fight the assembly elections.
Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati reach Taj Hotel in Lucknow ahead of the alliance announcement to make the formal announcement of SP-BSP alliance.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati will announce their alliance in Lucknow today afternoon.