Akhilesh just wants Dalit vote bank: Bhim Army chief rules out SP alliance

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Saturday ruled out an alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, saying Akhilesh Yadav “does not want Dalit leaders”. 

“After all the discussions, in the end, I felt that Akhilesh Yadav does not want Dalits in this alliance, he just wants Dalit vote bank. He humiliated the people of Bahujan Samaj, I tried for 1 month 3 days but the alliance could not happen,” Azad was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

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Azad met the SP supremo yesterday to discuss seat-sharing for next month’s elections. According to an NDTV report, Azad wanted 10 seats for his political outfit Azad Samaj Party, but was offered only two and an agreement could not be reached. 

However, Akhilesh shifted the blame on Azad for the fallout, saying the Bhim Army chief “received some call” and pulled out of the alliance. 

“I had allotted 2 seats to him, but he received some call and refused to be part of the alliance,” Akhilesh said at a press conference today. 

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Azad was understood to have a broad agreement with Akhilesh to contest the upcoming elections as allies.

“I will appeal to other opposition parties to also support me against Yogi, he has troubled the public for four-and-a-half years,” Azad said. He also said he wanted an alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as “we don’t want bahujan votes to be divided.”

On Friday, Azad hinted at a possible alliance with the Samajwadi Party in a cryptic tweet, saying that it is not easy to defeat the ruling BJP without strength and unity. 

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In November, Azad told NDTV that he will contest the polls against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying “I will not let Yogi win, no matter what happens.”

Elections for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly is scheduled to be held in seven phases starting from February 10. Counting of votes will be held on March 10.