Picture : Twitter / ANI
With three phases left for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to conclude there appears to be trouble in the united opposition camp as it attempts to oust the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Centre.
In the latest fissure , the Congress General secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s reported claim to have fielded weak candidates to eat into BJP’s vote share in the Lok Sabha poll in the state has not cut any ice with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who sees her statement as an “excuse” since the “people are not with them”.
“I cannot believe in these types of statements. I do not believe that the Congress has fielded weak candidates anywhere. No party does it. People are not with them. That is why they are making excuses,” Yadav told ANI in an exclusive interview.
Yadav’s remarks could well give the BJP the advantage in the politically crucial state. BJP had won 73 Lok Sabha seats out of 80 in 2014 and is hoping to better the feat this time around. The fissures in opposition ranks will make BJp happy.
Priyanka had caused a stir when she had said in Rae Bareli that her party had fielded some candidates in UP with an aim to cut into BJP’s vote share.
“Congress will win on the seats where our candidates are strong. Where our candidates are slightly lightweight, they will cut into BJP’s vote share,” she told media persons.
When asked about political analysts’ claim that the coalition is the ‘Team B’ of the Congress, Yadav, also former UP chief minister, claimed that there was no difference between the BJP and the grand old party.
“There is no difference between the BJP and the Congress. The Congress wants to benefit the BJP,” he said.
“Who taught the central agencies to intimidate Opposition leaders? The BJP has learnt to misuse the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and other agencies against leaders in opposition from the Congress,” he said.
“The person who filed PILs against Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and me was present at the nomination of Lucknow Congress candidate,” he said.He also debunked Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s claim that BJP controls the SP and the BSP. “No one controls us. We are political parties. It is the SP, BSP and RLD alliance in UP that is poised to give a setback to the ruling party,” Yadav said.
