On Thursday, Akhilesh Yadav blasted INDIA bloc partner Congress’ Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Rai over his remarks on seat-sharing in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai on Friday hit back at Akhilesh Yadav, day after the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief called Rai a “chirkut” (small time) leader and lashed out at the Congress over seat-sharing in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly polls as the rift between the alliance partners in the opposition INDIA bloc widened.

Responding to Yadav’s outburst, Ajay Rai said the SP cannot blame the Congress over seat-sharing in MP polls as the SP released its list of candidates before the grand-old party. Rai also said the SP was benefitting the BJP by contesting separately.

On Thursday, Akhilesh Yadav blasted INDIA bloc partner Congress’ Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Rai over his remarks on seat-sharing in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls as cracks appeared in Opposition alliance which hopes to present a united front against the BJP juggernaut in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

“Chirkut” leader

Dubbing Rai as a “chirkut” (small time) politician, Akhilesh Yadav said the Congress leadership should not allow its “small leaders” to comment on his party. “I want to tell the Congress, don’t talk about our party through your ‘chirkut‘ leaders.”

The Samajwadi Party (SP) announced its third list of two candidates on Thursday night. With this, it has announced 33 candidates for the November 17 polls to the 230-member assembly in the BJP-governed state. The Congress has announced its candidates for 229 seats.

Citing insiders from both parties, a PTI report said the Congress had apparently agreed to leave six seats for SP in MP but the seat-sharing arrangement did not materialise.

Raising what he termed as the basic questions under the “gathbandhan dharma’, Rai in a statement said the people of Uttar Pradesh want to know that “when our party was talking to SP about seats (in MP), why did Samajwadi Party release the list of its candidates before Congress released the list of candidates?”

Yadav reiterated in Shahjahanpur during the day that based on its performance in Madhya Pradesh, Congress had agreed to give six seats but not even the sitting SP MLA was given a ticket.

In the statement, Rai asked, “Akhilesh Yadav is himself saying that he wanted six seats, then what is the point of fielding candidates on 30 seats, who will benefit from it?”

“On one hand Akhilesh Yadav talks about saving the Constitution, fighting for the weaker sections, Dalits and backward classes, and on the other hand, he is contesting elections in MP separately, what is his real compulsion? Tell this to the public. Do not blame the Congress. Who will benefit from fighting separately, everyone knows that BJP will benefit from it,” Rai said.

While referring to Yadav terming him a “chirkut” (worthless), Rai said, “Does the use of abusive language for the UPCC president suit the former chief minister?”

Senior Congress leader Acharya Pramod wrote on X, “We always address him as honourable president, but he is calling our state president ‘chirkut’, this is a sheer insult to the party leadership. How long will this alliance continue like this?”

Talking to media persons after addressing a party workers training programme in Shahjahanpur, the SP president said the INDIA alliance should have made it clear in the first place that there would be no tie-up at the state level as in Madhya Pradesh.

On Thursday, Akhilesh Yadav had also said the Congress leadership should not allow its “small leaders” to comment on his party and alleged that Congress leaders were in cahoots with the BJP.

The INDIA grouping came into being primarily to put up a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a dig at the INDIA bloc after its constituents fielded candidates against each other in assembly polls, saying the opposition grouping is driven by the motto of “friendship in Delhi and wrestling in states”.

In the 2018 Madhya Pradesh elections, the SP won one seat – Bijawar in Bundelkhand region – and finished second on five, securing 1.30 per cent votes in alliance with the tribal Gondwana Gantantra Party.

(With PTI inputs)