Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra in Agra on Sunday, days after the two parties finalised the seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha elections.
The two leaders waved at the crowd gathered in the historic city where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who helped finalise the deal between the two parties, was also present.
The coming together of Gandhi and Yadav put days of uncertainty on the latter’s participation in the yatra to an end and came as a boost to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which has sealed key seat-sharing deals of late.
In his address, Yadav lashed out at the Narendra Modi government, saying the BJP has not given the backward classes, Dalits and minority communities the respect they deserve.
“Today, farmers are standing against the government. The government is scared of the power of farmers. In the coming time, the BJP will be removed and the INDIA coalition government will give respect to farmers,” he said.
As per the seat-sharing deal, the SP will contest on 62 seats in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress on 17. Yadav had earlier said said he would join Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra only if its seat-sharing proposal was accepted. The SP chief had not joined the yatra in Raebareli on Tuesday.
