In a public display of his electoral alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday participated in the first joint rally of the two parties at Meerut and said that the anger of the farmers would prove costly for the BJP in the forthcoming assembly polls in the state.
"The BJP's sun is certain to set, they (BJP) have committed atrocities on the farmers...their party leaders crushed the farmers under the wheels of their vehicles and they will have to go. BJP will be wiped out in the polls," Akhilesh said.
"This government has sold the airports, railway stations, Air India; those seeking jobs are being lathi charged; inflation has soared," the SP president said, listing out allegations against the BJP.
He also referred to the farmers' agitation and said that their government (SP-RLD), if elected, would hike the minimum support price (MSP) and also ensure that the farmers did not have to face any problems in selling their produce.
RLD president Jayant Chaudhary attacked UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and said that the latter was happy only when he was among his cattle. "I request you (people) to make sure that he is free after the polls so that he can spend all his time among them," Jayant said.
It was the first public meeting of the two parties and was intended to send the message among their workers to work unitedly. "We want to convey to the workers of both the parties that we are together in our fight against the BJP and that they should work unitedly to achieve the objective," senior SP leader Atul Pradhan said.
Sources in the SP and RLD said that more joint rallies would be planned in the 'Jatland', referring to the western region of the state, in the days to come.
Akhilesh was also in talks with the Bhim Army (a dalit outfit) founder Chandrashekhar alias Ravan, who wields considerable influence over the SC community in the western region. SP, RLD and Bhim Army aim at "bringing together Jats, Yadavs, Jatavs and Muslims" to counter the saffron party in the region, sources said.
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