Mayawati announced a formal alliance with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BSP chief said both the parties are joining hands to defeat communal forces and protect rights of the people.

The two parties first publically spoke about the alliance in March last year and then experimented with it in three Lok Sabha bypolls and one state assembly bypolls. The BJP lost all those seats to the alliance. The SP-BSP alliance can be a formidable opposition to the BJP which won 71 Lok Sabha seats in UP in 2014.

Also Read | SP-BSP roller coaster: After 26 years, same alliance, same challenge

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01: 50 pm IST Downfall of BJP has begun: Tejashwi Yadav Former CM of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav reacts on SP-BSP alliance, says downfall of BJP has begun from UP and Bihar





01:50 pm IST BSP and SP party workers celebrate the alliance in Varanasi Varanasi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) & Samajwadi Party (SP) party workers celebrate after BSP Chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav announce to contest upcoming Lok Sabha elections together.





1:34 pm IST Mamata welcomes SP-BSP alliance West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday welcomed the SP-BSP announcing an alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. “I welcome the alliance of the SP and the BSP for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections,” Banerjee tweeted. The Trinamool Congress supremo, who has been a vociferous critique of the BJP, has been touring the country over the last one year trying to build an opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.





1:27 pm IST SP, BSP coming together for their survival: Ravi Shankar Prasad “The SP and BSP have allied neither for the country nor for Uttar Pradesh, but for their survival. They know they cannot fight Modi on their own and their opposition to him is the sole base of their alliance,” senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. He also downplayed suggestions that the former arch rivals coming together will have any impact on the parliamentary polls, saying elections are not about mathematics but chemistry. Prasad made these remarks just after BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav announced their alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, sharing 38 seats each out of the state’s 80 parliamentary constituencies.





1:24 pm IST SP-BSP contesting together to save their political ground: BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi Both parties are contesting together just to save their political ground. These parties have blamed each other of murder in the past. Anyway, its their choice.We are confident. Even if all parties come together, we will still win.





1:03 pm IST Need of alliance in entire country: Kamal Nath “Today there is a need of alliances in the entire country. BJP got only 31% vote in 2014 and claimed it was people’s mandate, this happened due to split in votes,” said Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath.





12:56 pm IST UP has given PMs in past, trend will be repeated again: Akhilesh on Mayawati for PM “You know who is my choice. Uttar Pradesh has given Prime Ministers in the past and trend will be repeated again,” said Akhilesh Yadav on if he will support Mayawati for PM.





12:39 pm IST Any insult to Mayawati is my insult: Akhilesh “I want to say to BJP that they should know that we (SP-BSP) are in this together. I am grateful to Mayawati for giving me equal status. They should know any insult to Mayawati is my insult,” said Akhilesh Yadav





12:36 pm IST Come together to rid UP of BJP’s religion and caste politics: Akhilesh Yadav “We have come together to rid the state and country of BJP’s religion and caste politics. This alliance was a must to destroy BJP,” said Akhilesh Yadav. “To defeat the arrogance of BJP, it was necessary for BSP and SP to come together. BJP can go to any extent to create differences in our workers, we must be united and counter any such tactic,” he added.





12:26 pm IST BSP, SP will contest on 38 seats each: Mayawati Mayawati announced that BSP and SP will contest on 38 seats each out of 80 seats. “We are leaving 2 seats for smaller parties and 2 seats of Amethi and Raebareli for the Congress party without any seat-share deal,” said Mayawati





12:23 pm IST No real gain from aligning with Cong, says Mayawati “Congress party rule hasn’t benefitted anyone. There’s no real vote transfer from Congress and hence no real gain from aligning with Congress. We won’t ally with any party which will hurt our political ambitions,” said Mayawati.





12:21 pm IST Congress not part of alliance, confirms Mayawati Mayawati, while announcing tie-up with Samajwadi Party, confirmed that Congress is not part of the alliance. “All sections unhappy with Congress. Both Congress and BJP have similar policies and both of them are involved in corruption,” said Mayawati.





12:17 pm IST Alliance will represent common people: Mayawati “We will give our differences aside and work for the country. This alliance will represent common people. The BSP chief said both the parties are joining hands to defeat communal forces and protect rights of the people.





12:14 pm IST ‘This press briefing will give sleepless nights to Modi’: Mayawati While announcing tie-up with Akhilesh Yadav’s SP, Mayawati said, “This press briefing will give sleepless nights to (PM) Modi and Amit Shah.”





12:12 pm IST Mayawati announces SP-BSP alliance In a joint press briefing with SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati announced the SP-BSP alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “We have decided to contest upcoming Lok Sabha elections together, this will lead to a new political revolution in the country,” she said.





12:02 pm IST Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav arrive at venue Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj party (BSP) chief Mayawati have arrived at the press meet venue, where they are expected to formally announce their alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.





11:53 am IST Alliance hoardings interspersed with Mayawati’s 63rd birthday hoardings in Lucknow Mayawati-Akhilesh Yadav’s hoardings in Lucknow are interspersed with Mayawati‘s 63rd birthday hoarding. Mayawati shares her birthday with Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav, who is the wife of Akhilesh Yadav.





11:30 am IST Senior SP, BSP leaders arrive at venue BSP state president RS Kushwaha and SP state president Naresh Uttam along with senior BSP and SP leaders have arrived at the venue. BSP national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra met with SP delegates led by the SP national vice president Kiranmoy Nanda at the presser venue.





11:26 am IST Congress-BSP had announced alliance in 2017 from the same presser venue Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in 2017, had announced SP-Congress alliance from the same venue, same stagefor 2017 UP Assembly polls , Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had





11:19 am IST Sloganeering outside Akhilesh-Mayawati presser venue Supporters were seen raising slogans outside Akhilesh Yadav -Mayawati’s presser venue. ‘Akhilesh Yadav Mayawati zindabaad, zindabaad’, ‘Bua, Bhatija zindabaad, zindabaad’. ‘Mulayam, Mayawati zindabaad’ chants were heard in Lucknow ahead of the press conference, wherein the SP and BSP leaders are likely to make the big alliance announcement.





11:04 am IST Congress is prepared to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its own strength in UP: Party media coordinator With the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party set to cement a seat-sharing deal in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Friday appeared reconciled to fighting a lone battle in the state. Media coordinator of the party Rajeev Bakshi said: “Congress is prepared to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its own strength in UP”.





10:51 am IST ‘Very dangerous mistake to ignore us’: Congress on proposed SP-BSP alliance Ignoring the Congress in Uttar Pradesh can be a “very dangerous mistake”, the party asserted Friday, a day before the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party are likely to announce their alliance for Lok Sabha elections in the politically crucial state. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the objective of all opposition parties should be to defeat the ruling BJP and eliminate “autocracy, misgovernance” at the Centre. “We may have fallen on difficult times. But I think to ignore us can prove to be a very dangerous mistake. Since everybody realises that, I think we will have a happy and harmonious solution sometime in the near future,” he told reporters when asked about the possible SP-BSP alliance. Read | SP,BSP set to announce UP alliance without Congress, party calls it ‘dangerous mistake’





10:42 am IST ‘SP-BSP alliance will get maths right,’ said Akhilesh Yadav on Friday Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said the coalition will get “the math right” and defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A formal announcement is expected at a press conference by Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati in Lucknow on Saturday. “As of now, the alliance is only between two parties. The role of any other party will be decided later,” Akhilesh said in an event organised by Twitter in Kannauj. Read | SP-BSP alliance will get maths right: Akhilesh Yadav



