An alliance Between Samajwadi Party and Congress is possible under which Mulayam Singh Yadav is the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi Deputy PM, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav suggested today but the opposition party debunked it saying no tie-up is being planned “as of now”.
Akhilesh made the comments in the course of a conversation at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here in the presence of the Congress vice president. However, Rahul, who was seen smiling, refused to comment when asked to respond.
The UP Chief Minister was replying to a question on whether he was ready to extend his “good” personal relationship with Gandhi to a political level with the Congress.
“You are asking me because I am a Samajwadi (socialist) and you also say that I get rebuked by my father (Mulayam). I also want that Netaji’s dreams are fulfilled and that I work for him. He becomes the Prime Minister and he (pointing at Rahul) Deputy Prime Minister. I am in agreement with this and will make an alliance now,” if it is found acceptable, Akhilesh said, smiling.
“As of now, Indian National Congress has no intention of tying up or having any understanding with the Samajwadi party so the subsequent question does not arise”, party spokesperson Sushmita Dev told reporters on being asked about the suggestion by Akhilesh.
Akhilesh sidestepped a question on whether an alliance with its rival BSP, like the one in Bihar where JD(U) and RJD came together, is possible in UP for the 2017 Assembly polls.
“Her (Mayawati) choice is that stone made elephant statues come up. So how is that possible? I have already told you my formula,” was Akhilesh’s response, referring to his conditions for a possible alliance with Congress.
Earlier, he categorically said, “there is no talk of any coalition at this point. It’s better if we don’t talk of it now.”
The 42-year-old chief minister of India’s most populous state asserted that any relationship with the BJP or any of its associate organisations was not possible “because of the kind of divisions they produce and the language they use.