Lucknow, September 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said the party would welcome anyone who wanted to join it, responding to BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s remark that “without Akhilesh, everything feels empty.”
Singh made the comment while speaking about seat-sharing discussions among Opposition parties ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls. His remarks came days after Congress leaders indicated that the party was seeking to contest a substantial number of Assembly seats in the state.
Asked about Singh’s statement, Yadav said, “Whoever wants to join us, we will welcome and accept them.”
SP leader Ambika Chaudhary described Singh as a senior leader and said his statement reflected what he believed was public sentiment in Uttar Pradesh. He also referred to the political situation in Ayodhya following allegations of irregularities related to donations.
The exchange comes amid differences between SP and Congress leaders over the contours of their Opposition alliance for the 2027 Assembly elections.
Congress MP Imran Masood and SP MP Iqra Hasan had recently exchanged remarks over the relative strength of the two parties in Uttar Pradesh. Hasan was reported to have said that Akhilesh Yadav was the Opposition leader capable of defeating the BJP in the state and questioned what Congress could achieve on its own.
Responding to the remarks, Masood said there was no need for an alliance if the parties could not agree on its terms.
The Congress MP had also argued that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was the Opposition leader with national reach capable of challenging the BJP.
Meanwhile, Yadav has launched the SP’s ‘PDA Rath Yatra’ from Rae Bareli as part of the party’s outreach ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The campaign was launched on September 24 and is focused on the party’s PDA — backward classes, Dalits and minorities — outreach.
The choice of Rae Bareli has attracted attention as the constituency is represented in the Lok Sabha by Rahul Gandhi. The launch of the yatra has come amid ongoing discussions over SP-Congress coordination and seat-sharing for the upcoming state elections.
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