BJP's end near, feels RaGa; 'snubbed' Congress makes plans
That Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party joined hands and left Congress won't change the end result for Bharatiya Janata Party, said President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday in Dubai. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar addressed media a short while ago to talk about the party's plans. The leaders were confident of Congress' prospects in the politically vital state.
Backstory: Akhilesh and Mayawati's teams left Congress behind
The coming together of former bitter rivals SP and BSP dashed Congress' hopes. In the press meet on Saturday, Mayawati clarified her Party BSP will not ally with Congress anywhere in the country. She claimed there was no point aligning with the Congress as the party failed to translate votes on the ground. However, Akhilesh and Mayawati left Congress' bastions Amethi and Rae Bareli.
But RaGa feels fighting alone won't be bad after all
Despite the epic snub, RaGa seemed confident and said he has respect for both SP and BSP. He said they took decisions and now it was time for Congress to take some. "The Congress has lots to offer to the people of Uttar Pradesh. It's on us to strengthen Congress party in Uttar Pradesh, and we will fight to our full capacity," he said.
"They said wrong things about Congress but we accept it"
"I won't be disappointed about the BSP-Samajwadi Party alliance as long as the BJP does not come to power. In a way, they have said some wrong things about the Congress, but we accept it. Because that's how we work," RaGa added.
13 rallies in 13 zones for RaGa
After RaGa said Congress will fight in UP with all its might, details of the party's plans emerged. The party president will reportedly hold 13 rallies in 13 zones of the state and Congress will field candidates from all the 80 seats. The campaigning will most likely begin from Western Uttar Pradesh and RaGa will address rallies in Hapur, Moradabad, and Saharanpur, NDTV reports.
However, Congress' performance in UP hasn't been great
It should be noted that in 2014, Congress won just two seats in UP. RaGa and mother Sonia managed to retain their Lok Sabha seats. Since the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, Congress has not governed UP. Power has shifted between SP and BSP. In 2016 Assembly polls, BJP showed an incredible performance in UP and the state got Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister.
