Lucknow

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday asserted that his party’s alliance with the Congress and other partners would continue in future elections, stressing that the focus would remain on “victory, not seats”.

Speaking at an event organised by Amar Ujala in Lucknow, Yadav said the Samajwadi Party had extensive experience in coalition politics and had always ensured that its allies benefited from the partnership.

“We have formed many alliances in the past. The Samajwadi Party has always ensured gains for its allies and never betrayed anyone. The alliance that exists today will continue in the future as well,” he said.

Referring to seat-sharing discussions ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due next year, Yadav maintained that electoral success would take precedence over negotiations on constituencies.

“Even during the Lok Sabha elections, I had said the issue was not seats but victory. The same formula will continue. The question will not be about seats, it will be about winning,” he said.

Asked whether he and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would campaign together in the coming elections, Yadav reiterated that the opposition alliance remained intact.

On being asked about the opposition’s chief face against the BJP, Yadav said issues such as inflation, fuel prices, unemployment, the Agniveer scheme, farmers’ concerns and the plight of contractual teachers were themselves the biggest faces of opposition politics.

“What is the need for a face? Inflation itself is a big face,” he remarked.

Launching a fresh attack on the BJP, the SP chief said, “Where the BJP ends, PDA begins,” referring to his political slogan representing “Pichhade, Dalit and Alpsankhyak” (backwards, Dalits and minorities).

He added that PDA also symbolised “Prem, Daya, Apnapan” — love, compassion and affection.

Yadav also referred to the alleged NEET paper leak controversy, claiming the number of people affected was much larger than officially acknowledged.

“If five family members are counted for each of the 22 lakh affected students, then nearly 1.1 crore people were impacted. Among them, around four lakh students are from Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

When asked about the SP’s electoral strategy against the BJP, Yadav declined to elaborate.

“I will not reveal our strategy because we are fighting very powerful people,” he said.

Commenting on the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Yadav claimed that stronger Indian diplomatic engagement could have prevented escalation.

“If India had stood firmly with Iran, this war would not have happened. Just as the prime minister once landed in Pakistan unexpectedly, had he similarly gone to Iran, this war could have been prevented,” he said.

Responding to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s remarks that namaz would not be allowed on roads, Yadav said there were already laws governing public spaces and accused the BJP of diverting attention from core issues.

“There should not be political scoring over such matters. The BJP is the biggest ‘adharmi’ party,” he said.

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He added that roads should instead be widened and public attention should remain focused on issues such as education, inflation and unemployment rather than religious controversies.