LUCKNOW: The future of the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh seems to be in the doldrums with both the Samajwadi Party and Congress heading briskly on the path of confrontation. The ongoing war of words between the two parties over seat-sharing in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls got bitter when former MP CM Kamal Nath added fuel to the fire by asking media persons to ignore SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday.
When Kamal Nath was asked by media persons about allegations of betrayal against the Congress levelled by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, he said: "Arre bhai chhodo Akhilesh Vakhilesh (leave questions on the likes of Akhilesh)." He added that he was getting very encouraging feedback from every pocket of the state and was certain of a convincing victory by the party in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Earlier, while interacting with media persons in Shahjahanpur, Akhilesh Yadav accused the Congress of betrayal, asking who would trust the party if it behaved like this.
The SP chief also claimed that some Congressmen were hand-in-glove with the BJP in MP.
"If the Congress didn't want to give seats (in MP), then they should have said it clearly. Today, the SP is fighting only on seats where it has its own organisation. Now after Madhya Pradesh, I know that the INDIA alliance is for the (parliamentary) elections on a national level. If the Congress continues to behave like this, then who will trust them? If we fight with confusion in mind against the BJP, then we won't succeed," Yadav said.
“We would have not given them the list and would have not picked the phone calls of Congress leaders. They betrayed us. Are they making fools of us?” he said. “Why did Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh keep us engaged in meetings past midnight? The Congress leaders are in a nexus with the BJP.”
The Congress's reply to Yadav's flurry of charges was sharp, with Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Ajay Rai accusing the SP of "directly or indirectly" helping the BJP.
Rai said if the SP wanted to stop the BJP in its tracks, it would have to support the Congress in MP.
"Akhilesh Yadav, the public can see who is with the BJP. In Ghosi bypolls, we supported them (SP) and they won. At the same time, Bageshwar bypolls were held in Uttarakhand. They fielded their candidate there but the BJP won and Congress lost. This shows who is directly or indirectly helping the BJP. This will be proven in MP also. If the SP believes that the BJP should be stopped from winning, then they should support the Congress," he said.