Samajawadi Party (SP) chief Mulyam Singh Yadav said that his party will not enter into a pre-poll alliance with any party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Hosting an Iftar party here on Sunday, he said the SP, which is preparing to fight the coming elections on its own strength is not interested in ‘forging alliances’.
Explaining that his party is ready to take on the Congress, the BJP and the BSP, the SP chief said the rank and file of his party are gearing up to repeat its Assembly election’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
Referring to the SP’s strength in Karnataka, Singh said, “The people of Karnataka blessed the SP in the past when former chief minister S Bangarappa got elected to the Lok Sabha.”
Maintaining that the party lost its touch with the state for a brief period ‘’owing to some communication gap’’, he said that in the recently held Assembly elections, the SP opened its account when its candidate C P Yogeshwara won from the Channapatna constituency.
He also dropped a hint that Yogeshwar could be made the SP state president at the party’s convention in Chitradurga on Monday.
The SP chief also recalled his association with erstwhile Socialist Party leaders, including late Shanthaveri Gopalagowda.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Singh Yadav, who also spoke on the occasion, said, “The SP would field candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from 2-5 seats in Karnataka. The seats will be decided by the state party unit.
‘’By winning the Channapatna Assembly seat we have begun well in Karnataka,” he said.
Yogeshwar, former legislator Gulihatti Shekhar and several leaders from various Muslim organisations were also present on the occasion.
Former railway minister C K Jaffer Sharief and Congress legislator Roshan Baig felicitated Mulyam Singh and Akhilesh. KJP chief BS Yeddyurappa also called on the UP Chief Minister.
Not Happy With Telangana Decision
Coming down heavily on the UPA government’s decision to carve out a new Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh, the SP chief said, “It will weaken the country.” He said that his party will vote against the Telangana Bill in Parliament.
Maintaining that the decision to divide Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam had weakened the country, the former UP chief minister said, “The formation of smaller states is nothing but dividing the country,” he said.