'If UP & Bihar join hands, Modi govt will be ousted': Poster at SP office

A poster at Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Lucknow office has created a buzz in Uttar Pradesh’s political circles. And this comes days after a meeting between Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The poster reads, “UP + Bihar = Gayi Modi Sarkar (If Uttar Pradesh and Bihar join hands, Modi government will be ousted).”

It has photos of Nitish and SP president Akhilesh Yadav waving at the public, not seen on the poster.

Also read: It should be main front, not third front: Nitish Kumar on opposition unity

There are only two coloured elements in the black and white banner — Nitish’s green scarf (angochha) and Akhilesh’s red cap — both representing their respective parties’ preferred colour choices.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar together send 120 (80 and 40 respectively) MPs to Lok Sabha, and the party or the political formation that performs better in these two states is often in a good position to form a government in Delhi.

SP leader IP Singh, the man behind the banner, said on Saturday (September 10) that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have a history of initiating events that change the course of the country’s politics.

Also read: Nitish Kumar meets Rahul Gandhi in Delhi

“If these states decide (to go for a change), then nothing will be left (for others). If we see the political map, the BJP would be nowhere,” he told PTI.

Singh, also an SP spokesperson, said the most important thing is that the Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Rashtriya Lok Dal are the forerunners of socialist ideology, and ‘netaji’ Mulayam is the “patron” of all of them.

“It was the Samajwadis who had earlier uprooted dictatorship, and in the coming days, it would be socialists who would be heroes of the revolution,” Singh said.

Besides Akhilesh and Mulayam, Nitish had also met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, INLD supremo OP Chautala and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

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Nitish had said he was not looking to cobble together a “third front” but the “main front”.

Earlier, Nitish had ruled out of him being in the race to become Prime Minister. “I say this with folded hands, I have no such thoughts… My work is to work for everyone. I will make an effort to see that all opposition parties work together,” he told news agency ANI in August.