Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav. (Reuters)

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav cited on Wednesday his engineering background to explain the Lok Sabha drubbing, saying the gathbandhan was an experiment in learning that may have failed but it threw up findings that were an eye-opener in politics.

He also reiterated his pre-election message to the SP cadre, that respect for Mayawati is respect for him, a reciprocation of the BSP chief’s talk of mutual respect and upholding dignity in parting.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event at Eidgah, Lucknow, he said, “Science student raha hoon, yeh theek hai trial hota hai, kai baar aap nahi kamyab hote hain, lekin aapko kami pata lag jaati hain. (I have been a science student. There are trials and many times they are unsuccessful, but you realise the shortcomings.”

Commenting on Mayawati’s decision, he said, “Main aapko bharosa dila sakta hoon ki adarniya Maywati ke liye jo maine pehle din kaha tha pehli press conference mein, ki mera samman unka samman hoga, aaj bhi main wahi baat kehta hoon (I still say the same thing that I said on the first day, during our press conference with Mayawati, that respect to me is respect to her).”

Akhilesh said he would hold discussions and decide his course of action after BSP’s decision to contest all 11 byelections in the state alone, and hammer out a blueprint for the 2022 state polls. “Now the avenues are open. I will decide our political strategy after holding talks with all senior leaders,” he said.



In Video: After Mayawati snub, Akhilesh Yadav says SP will also contest UP bypolls alone