Akhilesh, Mayawati to decide on Mahagathbandhan partners in UP: Ram Gopal Yadav

NEW DELHI: Senior senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ram Gopal Yadav on Monday indicated that a Grand Alliance or a 'Mahagathbandhan' would certainly come in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections next year.

However, he said that the decision on who will join the Grand Alliance will be taken by his party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati.

Talking to news agency ANI, Ram Gopal, who is also the Rajya Sabha MP of the Samajwadi Party, said that there would certainly be a grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

''Everyone knows there is going to be a grand alliance. In UP, the SP and the BSP hold the most importance. Akhilesh ji and Mayawati ji will decide with whom the alliance has to be done,'' Ram Gopal Yadav told ANI.

Ram Gopal Yadav, Samajwadi Party on being asked about the grand alliance in UP for 2019 general elections: Everyone knows there is going to be a grand alliance. In UP, SP&BSP hold the most importance. Akhilesh ji&Mayawati ji will decide with with whom the alliance has to be done pic.twitter.com/C6WcJh5cBN — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 31, 2018

The reaffirmation from the senior SP leader came a day after his party president Akhilesh Yadav said that there will be a confluence of thoughts in Uttar Pradesh before forging an alliance with BSP and other parties and people will come to know about it very soon.

The SP chief's remarks triggered strong speculations about a possible SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2019 polls.

After defeating the BJP in a slew of bypolls in the state, both Yadav and Mayawati are said to be working for an electoral tie-up in UP where BJP and its allies won 73 of the 80 seats in the last general elections.

"In UP, there will be sangam (confluence) of people and sangam of thoughts, and very soon it will be in front of you," SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said in Lucknow on Sunday.

When asked whether the Congress will be a part of this confluence, Yadav said, "I said that there will be sangam of people and thoughts. All answers are included in this."

In spite of helping the Congress form government in Madhya Pradesh, both Yadav and Mayawati have been staying away from the grand old party.

Yadav didn't hide his displeasure over his lone Madhya Pradesh lawmaker not being included in Kamal Nath's cabinet.

He had said by doing so, Congress "cleared the path for Uttar Pradesh".

While lending support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Mayawati had said that she was helping it to form the government to keep BJP out.

Meanwhile, Yadav also praised efforts made by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to form the federal front. 

(With PTI Inputs)