UP Election 2022: Azad Samaj Party to contest solo after ruling out alliance with SP; talks on with Congress
Putting out the first list of candidates, Chandrashekhar Azad said, “We will be an alternative [to other political parties in UP]. I rejected offers to be MLA and minister.”
Azad Samaj Party (ASP) national president and Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad said his party would go solo in the Uttar Pradesh polls, ruling out an alliance with Samajwadi Party (SP). However, speaking about the possibility of an alliance with Congress, Chandrashekhar Azad told Aaj Tak that it may hold talks on alliance with the Congress and may make an announcement by the evening.
Putting out the first list of candidates, Chandrashekhar Azad said, “We will be an alternative [to other political parties in UP]. I rejected offers to be MLA and minister.” “Even if SP gives us 100 seats, I won't go with them. We shall help other parties after elections to stop BJP,” he added. “I also tried an alliance with Mayawati, but no one contacted me,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had alleged that Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad refused to form an alliance with SP abruptly after speaking to someone on the phone. “I had allotted two seats to him, but he (Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad) received some call and refused to be part of the alliance,” Yadav said during the press conference in Lucknow.
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“Whatever he (Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad) spoke to the Samajwadi Party, I listened to him and gave him the seats of Rampur Maniharan and Ghaziabad. But, after talking to someone on the phone, they told me that they cannot contest elections together,” he added.
Meanwhile, ruling out an alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, earlier today, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar 'Azad' criticized Akhilesh Yadav for eyeing 'Dalit vote bank', alleging that former Chief Minister does not want Dalits in his party.
Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad on January 15 ruled out the possibility of an alliance between his party, Azad Samaj Party, and the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. This came hours after Azad confirmed an alliance between the two parties.