KANNAUJ: Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will script history on Saturday when the once-sworn rivals formally declare their alliance for the Lok Sabha polls . On the eve of the big announcement, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav told TOI on Friday that if required, he is "willing to take a step backward in the interest of the alliance", an indication that leaving more seats for Mayawati 's BSP is not ruled out.Both the leaders will announce the SP-BSP 'gathbandhan' at a joint press conference in Lucknow on Saturday. Akhilesh himself confirmed that the joint press conference would be held with Mayawati to announce the alliance, just hours after he kicked off SP's campaign on 'twitter chaupal' at Fakirapura village on his home turf, Kannauj. "Kal ek mahatavpoorna din hai aur Samajwadi Party aur Bahujan Samaj Party ke gathbandhan ka elaan hai, toh is bare mein aaj kuch nahi kahoonga (Tomorrow is an important day when the SP-BSP alliance will be announced. So I won't talk about it today)," he told TOI on the sidelines of the chaupal."Number of seats will not be a bone of contention. The aim is to defeat BJP," said Akhilesh. That there is a strong possibility of Mayawati being in the driver's seat in the alliance - despite BSP performing poorly than SP in 2014 Lok Sabha and 2017 assembly polls - was indicated when Akhilesh was asked if he was willing to play a 'junior partner'. "It's not a question of junior partner or senior partner. The fact is that she (Mayawati) has more experience than me in politics," he said to the query.Akhilesh also emphasized that the joint press conference on Saturday will be only about SP and BSP. "During bypolls, we joined hands with RLD in Kairana and Nishad Party in Gorakhpur, but these details won't be addressed now," he said.However, sources in SP said that the party could leave seats for the two players from "its quota". If this formula is applied, SP contesting lesser number seats than BSP cannot be ruled out, the sources added. Right now, there is no clarity on whether the two restive BJP allies - Apna Dal and SBSP - would be given elbow room if they gravitate towards the 'gathbandhan' in the run-up to polls.On the possibility of Congress being a part of the alliance, Akhilesh said he had no discussions on the issue with anyone. "Our position is clear. We won't field any candidate in Amethi and Rae Bareli and the tradition will continue this time as well," he said, hinting that Congress was unlikely to figure in Saturday's big announcement.The alliance will not only unsettle BJP that swept 71 of the 80 seats in UP in the last Lok Sabha polls, but also spur the key UP satraps to play kingmaker in national politics, if the opposition comes within striking distance of power in Delhi in the general elections.Earlier, both parties simultaneously sent out media invites for the joint press conference. However, the invite didn't mention the subject.On the issue of making himself available before CBI in connection with the mining scam, Akhilesh said CBI should list the queries and he will answer them all in one-sitting. "But CBI should not repeatedly summon me as I will be busy campaigning. If they want to ask anything thereafter, they can again call me after elections," he said.