After Mamata, Akhilesh Yadav offers support for Cong in 2024 polls

Akhilesh Yadav, the president of Samajwadi Party (SP), has made a significant decision to support the Congress party in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This marks a notable shift in the SP’s stance, as the party had previously strongly opposed the Congress and referred to it as the “B-team of the BJP.”

Akhilesh has now aligned with Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief, in advocating for opposition unity at the national level. He believes that parties should contest elections in states where they have a strong presence.

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This change in Akhilesh’s position comes as welcome news for the Congress, which has faced resistance from the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress’s standing remains weak.

Akhilesh mentioned that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, and other parties share a similar opinion.

Notably, Akhilesh had met with Kumar last month in Lucknow to discuss opposition unity, but he had remained silent about including the Congress in the alliance.

Earlier, Banerjee had expressed that her party would support the Congress in areas where it is strong. However, she also called for reciprocal support from the Congress in West Bengal and suggested that the Congress should support regional parties in their strongholds.

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When asked about the recent Karnataka elections, Akhilesh stated that the people were the true winners in the state. He criticized the BJP for their politics of hatred and attributed their defeat to public opposition against inflation.

Akhilesh alleged the use of fake Aadhaar cards in the urban local body (ULB) elections in Uttar Pradesh, questioning the legitimacy of the BJP’s victory. He claimed that officials acted on instructions from BJP leaders during the elections.

In the Mayoral elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP secured victory in all 17 seats. Akhilesh further claimed the discovery of thousands of fake Aadhaar cards in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, and accused a woman legislator from the ruling BJP of orchestrating the casting of fraudulent votes.

According to Akhilesh, in Chandauli, a transgender candidate initially won but the result was manipulated. The correct result was restored after transgender individuals confronted officials with sticks.

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Highlighting the alleged voter fraud, Akhilesh insisted on the need for everyone to be prepared to protect democracy, drawing a parallel to how transgender individuals had defended democracy in Chandauli.