BJP gives free ration only when it needs votes: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav takes dig at saffron party

Mathura: The BJP only provides free ration when it wants people's votes and the benefits vanish as soon as elections are over, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Monday. Referring to the BJP's defeat in the Mainpuri parliamentary and the Khatauli assembly bypolls, he said the saffron party faced public anger. "When the BJP wants people's votes, it gives free ration, oil, gram, jaggery and salt. But when it gets the votes, it stops giving free ration," he told reporters.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief was in Mathura with wife Dimple Yadav and their children to pay obeisance at the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan on Sunday evening. This was their first visit to the temple after Dimple Yadav's victory in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll. Launching a scathing attack at the BJP, he alleged that barring "some rich friends", it wanted to make everyone poor and was working on these policies.

Akhilesh Yadav made a 'swastik' sign near the temple and prayed for the wellbeing, progress, development, prosperity and peace for the state and in the country. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister called the BJP a party that spread hatred and its politics hinged on making people fight each other.

Attacking the saffron party over its promise of giving jobs to the youth, the SP chief said BJP leaders made youths see big dreams before the elections but now the youths were going astray and were not getting jobs.

The SP retained the high-profile Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in the recently concluded bypolls while the BJP wrested the Rampur Sadar assembly seat from it. The BJP, however, lost the Khatauli segment to SP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal.

Akhilesh Yadav also attacked the BJP for its "intense dishonesty" in Rampur Sadar. "The BJP resorted to intense dishonesty in Rampur and managed the poll results in its favour," he said.

BJP candidate Akash Saxena defeated the SP's Asim Raza in Rampur Sadar seat, where bypolls were necessitated by the disqualification of Azam Khan. This was the BJP's maiden victory in the Muslim-dominated Rampur Sadar segment, which had elected Azam Khan 10 times in a row.

Taking a swipe at BSP chief Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav said she had deviated from the path of Dalit icon Kanshiram. He also said he and uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav would fight future elections together and register a more effective win.

"You will see that uncle-nephew will fight elections unitedly and win the polls in a more effective manner," he said when asked about Shivpal Yadav.

The "chacha-bhatija" (uncle and nephew) duo reunited to ensure Dimple Yadav's victory in Mainpuri, which was vacated following the death of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.