Akhilesh Yadav shows solidarity with TMC and DMK after their election setbacks, reinforcing the INDIA bloc and criticising Congress for abandoning allies.
Key Points
- Akhilesh Yadav supports TMC and DMK after their assembly poll defeats.
- Yadav criticises Congress for abandoning allies during difficult times.
- Yadav met with Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin to express solidarity.
- He alleges the West Bengal elections were manipulated using tactics similar to those in Uttar Pradesh.
- The TMC, DMK, and SP are part of the opposition INDIA alliance.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday threw his weight behind the Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which faced rout in the assembly polls, and took a jibe at the Congress, saying "we are not the ones who leave during difficult times".
The Congress has parted ways with its ally DMK and extended support to Vijay's TVK in Tamil Nadu.
Akhilesh Yadav's Meetings With Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin
Yadav also posted on X photographs of his meeting with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata and with DMK chief MK Stalin.
"We are not the ones who leave (you) during the difficult times," he said.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Thursday met Banerjee at her Kalighat residence and expressed solidarity with the party leadership following its defeat in the West Bengal assembly polls, while alleging that the elections in the state were conducted on the "Uttar Pradesh model" through intimidation and manipulation.
Opposition Strategies and the INDIA Bloc
The meeting assumed political significance amid efforts by opposition parties to recalibrate strategies after the recent assembly elections in several states, and as Banerjee has vowed to strengthen the INDIA bloc after the TMC's electoral debacle.
Yadav had alleged that the Bengal polls witnessed "multi-layered mafia tactics" involving the BJP, the Election Commission and "underground elements."
"What happened in Uttar Pradesh was repeated in Bengal. Opposition polling agents were threatened, and votes were conducted under fear. Central forces were used to ensure the defeat of the opposition," he had alleged.
The TMC, DMK and SP have been part of the opposition INDIA alliance.
Election Results in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu
The BJP won 207 seats to secure more than a two-thirds majority in the 294-member West Bengal assembly, ending the TMC's uninterrupted 15-year rule in the state. The Mamata Banerjee-led party was reduced to 80 seats.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK managed to win only 59 seats in the 234-member assembly.
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