'People of UP can make us win 400 seats': SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on 2022 polls

Ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Akhilesh Yadav has embarked on a 'Samajwadi Vijay Yatra' from Tuesday. He also slammed the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government for violence in Lakhimpur Kheri..

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has claimed that his party can win 400 seats in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled next year. He also said that SP's aim is to remove the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

"Seeing the disappointment against the BJP government, (it seems) that people of Uttar Pradesh can make our party win 400 seats in upcoming 2022 polls. Our party's aim is to remove BJP government," Yadav said while speaking to reporters on Thursday, news agency ANI reported.

Attacking chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the SP chief said, "Fake Baba will be removed soon."

Samajwadi Party has joined the chorus against UP government over the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, in which eight people were killed. Four of them were farmers.

Akhilesh Yadav tried to visit the families of the farmers in Tikunia village days after the violence, but was stopped by the police. He slammed the move, accusing the state government of being "anti-farmer".

The farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri have claimed that a vehicle in the convoy of Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra ran over the farmers who were returning after a protest, killing four of them. The minister and his son have repeatedly denied these allegations; however, Ashish Mishra was later arrested by the state police.

Today, Akhilesh Yadav sharpened the attack against BJP-led government, alleging it has cheated the public.

"The BJP workers crushed and killed the farmers with their vehicles. This government is anti-farmer, manure-stealer, and is behind the rise of prices of pesticides," alleged Yadav.

"Under this government, inflation has increased, unemployment has increased, corruption has increased, crime has increased, law and order have collapsed," he further claimed.

Yadav said that in the upcoming Assembly polls the SP will fight in alliance with the small parties. "We will not ally with any national party," he added.

Yadav is on a 'Vijay Rath Yatra' in the state ahead of next year's Assembly polls.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are scheduled to take place early next year. In the 2017 polls, the BJP won a landslide victory winning 312 of the 403 seats. The party secured a 39.67 per cent vote share. Samajwadi Party bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won 19 while Congress could manage to win only seven seats.

By hindustantimes.com | Written by Amit Chaturvedi, Hindustan Times, New Delhi