Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is forced to field his family members from all over Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, adding that fighting for kin and making them contest polls was part of the party’s game in the politically crucial state.
While Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from Kannauj, his wife Dimple is contesting from Mainpuri. Apart from this, his family members are in the fray from Firozabad and Azamgarh.
In an exclusive interview with Network18, PM Modi said: “They are forced to field family members. It is their compulsion. That’s their main character. They don’t have anything else. To fight for family members and to make family members fight in elections — that’s the game.”
Responding a question by Network18 Group Editor Rahul Joshi on Yadav and Rahul Gandhi coming together, the prime minister said the people of Uttar Pradesh know what is good for them.
“Didn’t they join forces before? They have united before, many times. But the people of Uttar Pradesh understand what is good for them. I said in Parliament that today the situation in Uttar Pradesh and the country is such that big leaders are withdrawing from the Lok Sabha race and trying to take the Rajya Sabha route. And that’s what it is. Big leaders are not ready to fight the elections. But we are working responsibly, taking everyone along and performing our duties. And I think nothing will be left of them this time around. Nothing.”
Discussing other states and the BJP’s expectations in the 2024 Lok Sabha battle, PM Modi said he was sure of a clean sweep in Bihar while, in the South, he knew Karnataka was regretting electing a Congress government.
“First, we [JDU and BJP] fought the assembly elections together. Later, they went somewhere and then came back. So, we are together as per the mandate of the people. As far as public support is concerned, I was in Bihar just recently, and I can see it clearly. Even when there is no tent overhead or anything in this heat, still lakhs of people are connected to us. I can see it clearly. Earlier, we used to lose one-odd seat in Bihar, but this time maybe we will not lose even one,” he said in the interview.
Hitting out at the Congress leadership in Karnataka, PM Modi said they were unable to resolve their chief ministerial crisis. “While the chief minister has taken oath, it has not been settled who it really is. There are a lot of people who consider themselves as the CM. If you look at the law-and-order situation, there are blasts and murders taking place; the economic condition is in a state of complete bankruptcy,” he said.
The prime minister also took a dig at the state government’s inability to quench Bengaluru’s thirst, saying it had turned the tech hub into a tanker hub.
“Look at Bengaluru, it has played a big role in raising India’s reputation across the world. Bengaluru used to be known as the tech hub and now, in no time, it has been turned into a tanker hub. And tankers also have a mafia culture. People are yearning for water,” he said.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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