Akhilesh Yadav said, "The Congress should take all secular parties along to usher a change in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections." But he said regional parties and regional issues will have a role to play in the next general elections.

Offering his insight into the urgent need for a winnable front to reassure poverty-stricken farmers and unemployed youths, Akhilesh said, "The BJP speaks of sabka sath, sabka vikas but when we try to give justice to all sections of society, the BJP calls it appeasement."

“We can build a strong Bharat only by taking all people and all sections along. The nation cannot progress when farmers are distressed, and youth unemployed. The elections should be fought on issues, such as farmers' distress, youth unemployment... In 2019, you will see change, " he asserted.

Samajwadi Party wanted to join an alliance with Congress and demanded only five seats but Rahul Gandhi and his managers rejected it on the plea that SP had no presence in Gujarat. In a bid to enlarge the support base of his party countrywide, he fielded five candidates and campaigned for them. Had there been an understanding between the two parties, Akhilesh would have campaigned for Congress candidates as well.

The Samajwadi Party had shown magnanimity in the UP Assembly polls when Congress was given 115 seats despite their poor performance in the state. This was reflected in the results, with Congress getting only seven seats. In fact, Akhilesh had accommodated Congress in UP despite stiff opposition by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was against any kind of alliance with Congress.

BSP leader Mayawati too had approached Congress for an alliance in Gujarat. Senior BSP leaders had met the Congress high Command in this regard, but the Congress managers refused to accommodate BSP on the plea Mayawati’s demand for seats was on the higher side and Mayawati was not willing to come down. Having failed to reach any agreement on seats, Mayawati decided to contest all seats and the votes her candidates polled are held responsible for the defeat of Congress candidates who lost by narrow margin. That the BSP vote share in the Gujarat elections was even less than votes recorded for NOTA is a huge embarrassment for Mayawati’s party.

Veteran Congress leaders and former ministers Ram Krishna Dwivedi, Kranti Kumar and Satyadeo Tripathi are planning to write a joint letter to AICC president Rahul Gandhi to take the initiative to form an alliance with like-minded secular parties to take on BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

NCP state president Dr Ramesh Dixit has also urged Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leaders to take the initiative to form an alliance with like-minded smaller parties to defeat BJP in the next elections in UP. (IPA Service)