On Wednesday, Akhilesh Yadav said he hoped RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary will not weaken the struggle going on for the “khush-haali’ (prosperity) of Uttar Pradesh.

Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav Thursday commented on the speculations of RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary breaking ties with the INDIA bloc and joining the BJP-led NDA, stating that the “BJP knows when and whom to buy” and are well-versed in breaking up parties.

“BJP knows when to take whom. It also knows how to cheat. In Chandigarh you saw how dishonesty took place. BJP also knows when to buy whom. It has become the largest party not just like that,” the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister told reporters in Varanasi.

‘BJP knows how to break parties’

The SP chief also accused the BJP of “misusing” central agencies like ED, CBI and Income-tax, alleging that the ruling party deploys these agencies to “silence” detractors and coerce political opponents.

“BJP knows when and what to do. It knows when and where ED and CBI are to be sent and to conduct Income-tax raids and also when to silence which journalist,” said Yadav, adding “BJP knows how to break parties.”

‘Hope Jayant Chaudhary stands firm with INDIA’

On Wednesday, Yadav said he hoped Jayant Chaudhary will not weaken the struggle going on for the “khush-haali’ (prosperity) of Uttar Pradesh while also asserting belief that the RLD chief would stand firm with the opposition INDIA bloc.

#WATCH | Lucknow | When asked about speculations of Jayant Chaudhary-led RLD joining the BJP-led alliance in UP, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav says, “I had said that he is a very sorted man. He understands the world. He will not let the fight of farmers, youth and the… pic.twitter.com/c98BAwfP4v

— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2024

“The BJP is doing the work of creating confusion. He (Jayant) is not going anywhere. He will remain with the INDIA bloc with full strength and will do the work of defeating the BJP,” SP leader Shivpal Yadav had told reporters.

The RLD and the SP announced their alliance for the Lok Sabha polls on January 19 with the former stating that the latter will leave seven seats in western Uttar Pradesh for its nominees. Jayant and Akhilesh announced the tie-up on social media for the general elections later this year.

The RLD’s core vote bank is the Jat population. The Lok Sabha constituencies where there is a sizeable Jat population are Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Bijnor, Mathura, Baghpat, Amroha and Meerut. These could be the seats on which the RLD is likely to contest.

Both the parties had contested the 2022 assembly elections in an alliance as well in which the SP had won 111 seats while the RLD bagged eight seats.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls also, the RLD was part of the SP-BSP alliance. The RLD had got Mathura, Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar seats but it lost on all the three seats while the SP and the BSP had won five seats and 10 seats respectively.

Though the RLD did not have enough strength to send Chaudhary to the Rajya Sabha, the SP supported him in his election. An RLD spokesperson, when asked on the issue of possibilities of joining the BJP, preferred not to comment.

‘Heartily welcome everyone’

Meanwhile, asked about the alleged growing proximity between RLD and BJP, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told reporters in Lucknow, “There are always possibilities in politics and BJP is a party working with dedication towards Bharat Mata. It is with the people supporting the all-round development of Uttar Pradesh. We heartily welcome everyone.”

Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra said, “See, this discussion is going on in the media. As far as INDIA block is concerned, everything is fine here. There is no cause for concern.”

(With PTI inputs)