Amid Discontent, INDIA Block Faces 'Akhilesh' Challenge In Maharashtra

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said he would visit Maharashtra on Friday and seek more seats to contest the upcoming Assembly elections there as part of the opposition INDIA bloc. The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will got to the polls in a single phase on November 20, and the results will be out on November 23.

In 2019, the Samajwadi Party contested seven seats in Maharashtra, winning two and losing its deposit in the remaining five, according to Election Commission figures. "I am going to Maharashtra tomorrow. Our effort is to ensure that the INDIA bloc wins. In Maharashtra, the INDIA bloc parties include the one led by Sharad Pawar Ji, the former CM's (Uddhav Thackeray) party (Shiv Sena-UBT), and others including Samajwadi Party," Yadav told reporters.

"With two MLAs in Maharashtra, we have sought some seats to fight the polls alongside the INDIA bloc. We will continue to stand by the INDIA bloc with all our strength," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Samajwadi Party aligned with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or the INDIA bloc to take on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

After the polls, the SP with 37 seats emerged as the third largest party in the Lok Sabha with only the Congress and the BJP ahead of it. On Wednesday, Yadav, the Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj, was in Jammu and Kashmir for the swearing-in ceremony of National Conference's Omar Abdullah as the new chief minister.

"Ekta hi INDIA hai (Unity is INDIA)," he captioned a picture of himself with other INDIA bloc leaders from different parties attending the event. In Maharashtra, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) is fighting against the ruling Mahayuti consisting of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Ajit Pawar-helmed NCP.