Grand Alliance possible for UP polls, says Akhilesh Yadav

You tell me what to state and I will state that. Congress leader PL Punia said if the communal forces are to be curbed and defeated then all secular parties must come together.

Similar verdict people have given to Samajwadi party in Panchayat election.

“We have the support of the people of the state”, Shivpal said on Sunday.

“BJP will battle towards it strongly and we will win in UP”, Hussain stated to the media right here. “The Samajwadi Party will have Mr Akhilesh Yadav and the BSP will have Ms Mayawati but the BJP will not have a face which will go against the party interests”.

The buzz about a second partnership between the avowed foes, who had split up in 1995 following a brief dalliance, was triggered by reports that appeared in a couple of newspapers this morning.

It is noteworthy that in the recent Bihar elections, the BJP had not projected a chief ministerial candidate and this was cited as one of the reasons for the party’s humiliating defeat. It said Akhilesh had “indicated” it was possible but refused to elaborate. The leaders say that the party is open to a grand alliance to defeat the BJP in UP like in Bihar.

An English daily was more specific. It quoted Akhilesh as saying: “Possibilities of such an (grand) alliance can not be ruled out”.

Mr Mathur further said that it would be wrong to compare the situation in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

“Every paper has a different story on what I had said”. With such a record of work behind us, who wants a ‘ gathbandhan’ (alliance)? What is important that there should not be division among anti-BJP votes, he said.

However, he added that the parliamentary board of the party could change the decision if the need arises.

Chhath Puja is celebrated in around 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh with great enthusiasm and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yada led Uttar Pradesh government has announced the state wide holiday for “Chhath Puja 2015” today on November 17, Tuesday for government offices. “The person seated before you?”

The statement came a day after BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak had said that verdict like Bihar was possible in UP only if two arch rivals BSP and SP join hands.

On a controversial statement by party leader Azam Khan in which he blamed the west for the weekend’s terror attacks in Paris, Yadav said the party had condemned the attack the day it happened but refrained from commenting on Khan’s statement.