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The 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh may once again decide the contours of the next Lok Sabha and government at the centre. The state propelled the Narendra Modi-led BJP to comfortable majorities in the last two general elections. In an interview with DH’s Political Editor Sumit Pande, Samajwadi Party chief and former UP CM, Akhilesh Yadav, explains the rainbow coalition of communities the SP-Congress alliance has sought to mobilise to challenge the BJP in UP. Excerpts:
What are the issues on which you are seeking a mandate from the people?
People are looking for a change. They are assessing the performance of the BJP MPs with whom they interact daily. Prime Minister Modi is not someone they can reach out to every day. For instance, the Prime Minister had adopted a village. If free and fair elections are held, the BJP will lose even in that village.
The government has failed on all fronts. Prime Minister Modi is embroiled in the politics of the negative narrative he has tried to spin. People do not want to listen to it anymore.
Even Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is delivering the same old, stale dialogue.
Now PM is saying that till Modi is alive, he will not allow anyone to snatch the rights of the backward, Dalits, and tribals. The fact is that they are the ones who have robbed these communities of their rights. There is a difference in what PM says and does.
How many vice chancellors from Dalit, backward, and tribal communities have been appointed vice chancellors in central universities? How many VCs from the communities in UP have been appointed?
What is the representation of PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Adivasi, or Backward, SC, and ST) in JNU? Less than 15%. The same is the case with Banaras Hindu University, which is in the prime minister’s constituency.
Even in the Election Commission, PDA representation is less than 15%. Precisely the reason why PDA will defeat NDA this time around.
But the BJP has cornered over 10% more votes than you in every election, both assembly and Lok Sabha, in the last ten years. How will you make up for this deficit?
What was the BJP’s position before 2014? This is the beauty of democracy: people decide. There are many constituencies where we covered this deficit in the last Lok Sabha polls to register a win in the 2022 UP assembly elections. This time we have set right our arithmetic and spoiled the BJP’s chemistry.
You have aligned with the Congress in 2017 as well. What is the difference between then and now?
We have now learned how to stitch alliances. And how to distribute tickets. With a large heart and for the greater good of the nation, the Samajwadi Party has always made sacrifices to forge alliances. Whether we aligned with the BSP or other smaller parties, the objective has been to serve the people. While this government has served some big people only,.
The new government that will be formed will serve the people instead.
In your ticket distribution, you have sought to dispel the image of the SP as a Muslim-Yadav party. SP has accommodated other backward communities this time around. What is the reasoning behind this?
In a democracy, one can win only if one can muster sufficient votes. When we are talking about PDAs, we also have to walk the talk. In ticket distribution, we have tried to reflect our commitment to PDA. ‘A’ does not just stand for Adivasi, but aadhi-aabadi, or half of the total population.
Why have you given tickets to only four Muslim candidates?
It does not matter. We are getting 200% of the votes from the community.
And Dalits?
A large section is voting for us. And this is making the prime minister nervous. And he has had to clarify on many occasions. It is you who have taken away reservations and introduced quotas for Economically Weaker Sections, or EWS.
You have done this to stop PDAs in the general category. Instead of saying, ‘till I’m alive, I will protect the rights of the PDA,’ the PM should say I made a mistake and I will rectify it.
Imagine the job loss to the PDA population when the government sells airports and planes.
How do you see national politics evolving after these elections?
UP is preparing to bid farewell to the BJP, and I’m eagerly waiting for the moment. UP is going to give a grand farewell to the BJP. Acche din will start from June 4.
Will the alliance with the Congress continue in the future as well?
We try to continue with the alliances as much as possible.
Do you see a national role for yourself after the elections?
I’m happy here. But I have fought MP elections, so let’s see what my fate has in store. If it is good, I will take it; otherwise, I will stick here.
If the I.N.D.I.A alliance gets a mandate, will Congress be leading it?
How can one comment on it at this stage? This is not the right time to say anything about it. I.N.D.I.A alliance leaders will decide after the elections.
What is the percentage of votes you are targeting?
We are getting enough votes to defeat the BJP even in Varanasi. That’s the reason all top leaders have had to camp in the PM’s constituency.
There is talk of a rift in the BJP, especially between CM Yogi and the central leadership. Is this also an issue?
Yes, it is. The state does not have a permanent chief secretary. It doesn’t have a permanent DGP. Why is the Centre not allowing the UP CM to make permanent appointments to these two important posts? In this double-engine model, the two engines are pulling in different directions.