Zee India Conclave: Will visit all mandirs and masjids to maintain our alliance with Mayawati, says Akhilesh Yadav

The SP fought the bypolls in alliance with Mayawati led Bahujan Samaj Party and won the seat which was a BJP bastion.

NEW DELHI: Elated by the Samajwadi Party's victory in Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls, party chief Akhilesh Yadav is in no mood to let the alliance be broken. "I have always respected her like bua, the relations are much better now. We will visit mandir, masjid and all religious places to maintain our alliance with Mayawati," Yadav said in a video interaction during a session at the Zee India conclave. The SP fought the bypolls in alliance with Mayawati led Bahujan Samaj Party and won the seat which was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bastion.   

Yadav also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has done nothing for the development of the state and the people have taught the ruling party a lesson. "The people are asking the BJP today what is it that they have done for them. Be it demonetisation or GST implementation, there is nothing that they have done for the development of the people," he said.

Recalling his defeat in the 2017 state elections, Akhilesh said that the BJP was the reason for their loss. "For me political up and downs are not new. I have seen Netaji's government coming to power and then being removed several times. People of UP helped us, but low-level politics by the BJP was the reason for our defeat.

Questioned on the superstition that will he visit Noida if he comes to power again, he laughed it off saying: "I did a lot of work for Noida when SP was in power in the state. Will visit Noida before the elections to see how those plans have been implemented. Whether or not I will visit after becoming the Chief Minister is something that can be decided later." 

There has been a superstition that whichever CM visits Noida, they do not come back to power. Several CMs in the past have believed the superstition and have stayed away from visiting the city. However, UP CM Yogi Adityanath visited Noida in December for the inauguration of the metro line where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present.

Is Akhilesh aiming for national politics now? The SP chief denied saying he has no intentions of doing so. "I am happy in Uttar Pradesh, do not send me to Delhi. I do not aim big for myself, I only aim big for development," he said.