Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav made a significant appearance on Sunday at the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra organized by Rahul Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra. This event comes on the heels of the seat-sharing arrangement finalization for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as the INDIA bloc gears up for the polls.
Akhilesh Yadav, after previously stating his reluctance to join the yatra without a seat-sharing agreement, joined the Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, endorsing their cause and slogan, ‘BJP haatao, desh bachao’ (Remove BJP, save country). According to the arrangement, the Congress is set to contest 17 out of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, which is known to be the state contributing the most MPs to the Lower House of Parliament.
Rahul Gandhi, addressing the public at Agra, underlined the widespread injustice faced by the poor and stressed the need to inject justice into the movement. He recounted the year-long journey of Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and emphasized the goal of propagating love in an environment of hatred. Rahul and his sister Priyanka joined hands with Akhilesh Yadav, echoing the sentiments of fighting for democracy and upholding the Constitution, as envisioned by Dr. BR Ambedkar, against the BJP’s tenure.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took the stage in Aligarh to express her concerns over youth unemployment, farmer issues, and the burden of inflation faced by the country under the current government. The assembly of Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav recalls their partnership back in Agra during the 2017 UP assembly elections. The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which began in Manipur on January 14, plans to conclude in Mumbai on March 20.
The seat-sharing pact between Congress and the Samajwadi Party has been defined for the polls, with SP contesting 63 seats and Congress on 17. Notable constituencies such as Rai Bareli, Amethi, and Varanasi, which included Sonia Gandhi’s former seat and the seat lost by Rahul Gandhi in 2019 to BJP’s Smriti Irani, have been allocated to the Congress. The outcome of the 2019 elections saw the BJP with 62 seats, while the SP, together with the Bahujan Samaj Party, secured five seats.