Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav yesterday dared Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections next year as part of their “One Nation, One Election” campaign.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow yesterday, Yadav welcomed UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s support for simultaneous elections, saying his party has no issues with this suggestion and it should be implemented next year itself.
The Samajwadi Party chief said he has absolutely no problems with BJP’s suggestions of linking voter IDs with Aadhar cards and then holding simultaneous elections as the recent by-election results prove that people no longer support the saffron party and wish to see a change.
Akhilesh Yadav’s comments came at the backdrop of CM Adityanath’s recent remark in which he expressed support for simultaneous elections. He had argued that separate elections hamper developmental work and also cost the state exchequer a lot of money. This idea had first been pitched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few months ago.
Speaking about 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Yadav said they will be fought on the basis of important development issues. He also stated that Samajwadi Party will be contesting upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, and he is open to the idea of forming alliances with parties like Congress in this regard.