Akhilesh Yadav takes veiled dig at UP CM Yogi: 'Those without kin won't care for people'

The battle for the UP polls turned personal on Wednesday as SP president Akhilesh Yadav took a veiled dig at CM Yogi Adityanath for not having a family. Addressing a massive rally in Banda as a part of 'Samajwadi Vijay Yatra', Yadav contended that only those who have a family can understand the pain of the people. To buttress his point, he highlighted that only Samajwadi Party had extended help to the persons in distress including migrant workers or farmers. 

Former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav remarked, "Some of the migrant workers who walked (to UP during the lockdown) lost their lives. The government did not help them. If someone had helped, it was Samajwadi Party who came forward and gave them Rs.1 lakh. The government is not providing any help to the farmer who is committing suicide. We, Samajwadi leaders, understand the grief and problems of the poor. We all have families. That's why we know what the condition of a labourer's family will be if he loses his life."

"We have families and so when there was a mishap anywhere, Samajwadi leaders extended help. Only those who have a family can understand the pain of people. Those who don't have a family won't care for you," he added. 

UP polls

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, BJP had won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was seen as a mandate for PM Modi as BJP had not declared any CM candidate, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise pick for the post. Though some BJP leaders made conflicting statements over Adityanath's future as the Chief Minister, PM Modi put rest to all speculations by lauding UP's governance model during his successive visits to the state.

While Akhilesh Yadav has ruled out any alliance with Congress and BSP, he has hinted at allying with his uncle Shivpal Yadav. So far, SP has announced a tie-up with Mahan Dal, Rajbhar's SBSP and the Apna Dal faction of Krishna Patel. Amid speculation over Jayant Chaudhary's meeting with Akhilesh Yadav on November 23, sources told Republic TV that RLD is likely to be allocated 30-35 seats for the 2022 UP polls. Meanwhile, Yadav met they met  AAP's UP in-charge Sanjay Singh for about an hour in Lucknow a day later where a discussion was held on seat-sharing and other possibilities for the UP election.