AMN / LUCKNOW
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Wednesday dared the BJP to conduct Uttar Pradesh assembly elections with 2019 Lok Sabha elections as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘one nation, one poll’ idea.
He said they were all prepared for the simultaneous state and national elections a day after Uttar Pradesh government said it will submit a report backing the idea. In the report, the state government has suggested that tenures of certain assemblies, including that of Uttar Pradesh, be extended to implement the idea.
“I have heard that they (the BJP) have extended their tenure. Make this happen early, we are ready for one nation, one election. Do it in 2019,’’ he told reporters. He asked the BJP why was it waiting. “You want to conduct elections in most of the states. Where would you find a better opportunity? … this (Uttar Pradesh) is the biggest state in the country, the message should go from here.”
He said they welcome the idea but said the regional parties have constraints. “…what resources do the regional parties have… how would they reach the people? You cannot contest an election without resources. This is a new era, if you do not have management, then you cannot win an election. Think how much the bigger parties spend on management. They hire management companies.”
Akhilesh backed the state government’s proposal for linking voter IDs with Aadhaar. “It is a good thing that there will be one voter list. It is the era of technology… connect it with Aadhaar. You (BJP) have connected all the facilities with Aadhaar.” He said no one has more formulas than BJP. “They can divert people’s minds whenever they want.”
He said the SP would contest elections in other states, where they have their organisation. Akhilesh added SP would be a part of the alliance if other opposition parties are interested in Madhya Pradesh. “If not, then we would contest alone.”
He referred to Patanjali’s threat to pull out of a food processing project in Uttar Pradesh and said it was not a question of Ramdev but that of farmers.