Tejashwi Yadav meets Mayawati, predicts BJP's "Whitewash" from Uttar Pradesh after SP-BSP alliance

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday met BSP chief Mayawati a day after she announced an alliance with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Tejashwi Yadav welcomed the "grand alliance" in Uttar Pradesh between Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP)-- in which both the parties agreed to contest in 38 seats each. After the meeting, Tejashwi Yadav said the BJP would be "whitewashed" in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

"There's atmosphere today where they want to scrap Baba Saheb's (BR Ambedkar) constitution and implement 'Nagpur laws'. People have welcomed the step taken by Mayawati-ji and Akhilesh-ji.The BJP will be whitewashed in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They won't win even one seat in Uttar Pradesh. The SP-BSP alliance will win all seats," Tejashwi Yadav told news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, the SP-BSP alliance stated that they would not contest from Rae Bareli and Amethi which are the stronghold of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi respectively.

Read: After Snub By SP-BSP Gathbandhan In U.P, Congress Makes Pitch To Smaller Parties In Fight Against BJP, Says 'will Contest Elections On All 80 Seats'

A day after SP-BSP Gathbandhan left out Congress party from the alliance in Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2019 polls, the senior party leaders on Sunday announced that Congress would go it alone on all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the upcoming general election.

However, Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Ghulam NabiAzad said that the party would accommodate any secular force that would be capable of taking on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking at the press briefing, Azad said, "The Congress will contest on all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and defeat the BJP." 

On the possibilities of an alliance with the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Azad said he would not like to speak to the media about it.

Read: Here's Omar Abdullah's Analysis Of Rahul Gandhi's Reaction To Congress Being Left Out Of SP-BSP Gathbandhan In Uttar Pradesh

(With inputs from agencies)