AMN / Lucknow
Jointly addressing a press conference here today Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party’s national president Akhilesh Yadav termed their alliance as an “answer to divisive politics”.
They declared that their parties would fight the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections together to defeat communal forces.
“We are like two wheels of bicycle…there is not much difference in age between us,” Akhilesh Yadav said. “Today is the beginning… Rahul and I will take UP ahead on the path of prosperity.”
“The alliance is the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna out of which the Saraswati of development will come out,” Gandhi said, although he admitted the two parties were “different”.
“We have similarities and differences too; we want to contest elections on similarities. But we will also have to make some compromises,” Gandhi said.
He however remained elusive on whether the alliance would extend to general elections in 2019.
“This is a historic alliance…alliance for LS polls is open for discussion,” he said.
On Priyanka Gandhi — who has been credited for the alliance — would campaign in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leader said it was for her to decide. —