Samajwadi Party will form government in UP in 2022: Akhilesh Yadav

Shortly after new leaders joined the Samajwadi Party, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday asserted that he is confident that the party will form the government in the state once again in 2022. With news leaders joining the Samajwadi Party, he stated that the party has grown.

"In the coming times, we will fight the elections together. The SP family has grown and we will surely form the government in the state in 2022," Akhilesh Yadav said. 

Criticising the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh, he alleged that the land for All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rae Bareli and Gorakhpur was allotted under Samajwadi Party government under him during 2012-2017. Attacking the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra, Akhilesh Yadav said that BJP could not fight the election on its own in Maharashtra. He alleged BJP of engaging in divisive politics in the state. 

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Phoolan Devi's sister joins SP

On Sunday, former dacoit-turned-SP MP late Phoolan Devi's sister Rukamani Devi Nishad joined the party ahead of the bypolls and impending state Assembly polls in UP in 2022. Bypolls are set to be held in 11 Assembly seats in the state on October 21, 2019. The counting for the byelection is slated for October 24. The 11 seats up for byelections include Pratapgarh, Lucknow Cantt, Rampur, Gangoh, Govindpur, Jalalpur, Zaidpur, Iglas, Manikpur, Ghosi, and Balham. 

READ | Phoolan Devi's Sister Joins Samajwadi Party Ahead Of UP Bypolls

SP's Lok Sabha polls performance

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Samajwadi Party entered into an alliance with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samajwadi Party. The 'Mahagathbandhan' in UP managed to win only 15 seats with BSP winning 10 seats, and SP winning 5 seats. Rashtriya Lok Dal could not manage to win a single seat in the state. However, after their dismal performance in the polls, the BSP-SP alliance parted ways. 

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(With ANI inputs)