Akhilesh says alliance with Congress was due to family feud in Samajwadi Party

While the entire state is gripped in fervour ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, fissures seem to have surface in the Samajwadi Party (SP) - Congress grand alliance. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav reportedly said that the alliance with Congress was an outcome of the infighting within the Yadav family.

However, the chief minister also said that the alliance also increased the prospects of a regional government coming back to the state.

In an interview to a daily, Akhilesh said that the alliance would not have formed had there been no conflict within the family. He said that the alliance with Congress is good and that he shared a great equation with Congress



vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Akhilesh said that he and Rahul are of the same age and that they share similar opinions on a variety of issues. He said that the alliance wants the state and the nation to progress.

When asked what SP workers thought about the alliance with Congress, Akhilesh said that the workers stand united with the party and that there is no difference of opinion.

There was some bitterness in the past, but now things have changed, he said. Akhilesh added that his party and Congress are fighting to maintain secularism in the nation. He also said that the language used by PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah pose a threat to the nation.