Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav left an image of a healthy relationship between the two, as they addressed the crowd in joint conference and roadshow. Flaunting their unity they said that they were like the “two wheels of a cycle” (the SP’s poll symbol) and the “confluence of Ganga and Yamuna”.
“Our alliance is the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna, out of which the Saraswati of development will flow… We have similarities and differences. We want to contest the elections on similarities, and will also have to agree to some compromises,” said Rahul, addressing the hour-long press conference. “Yeh dil ka alliance hai, mil ke jeetenge (It is an alliance of hearts, we will win together).”
Clearing the lists of previous attacks made on SP Government by Congress, Rahul said that Akhilesh is a “good boy” trying to do good work but was being prohibited. He also mentioned that they “are friends and not just political allies”, and that the two parties “share much of each other’s ideologies” and goals.
As per Indian Express reports, Rahul Gandhi said that the best answer to the politics of anger and revenge would be “progress, prosperity and peace”. They said that in the alliance they could “defeat the ideology of the RSS and BJP”. Rahul Gandhi also made it clear that they have been targeting the youth claiming that they want to give UP a new dimension, a new base of thought.
“Agar cycle ke do pahiye hain, to hum aur Rahulji do pahiye hain. Yeh vikas ka bhi pahiye hai, khushali ke bhi pahiye hain (Rahul and I are the two wheels of the cycle, the wheels of development and prosperity),”
“Desh mein sandesh ja raha hai, aane wale samay mein Rahulji aur hum is desh ko khushali aur taraki ke raste pe lejane ka kaam karenge. Aur UP ko barhane ka kaam karenge (The message is being sent to the nation, Rahul and I will steer the country towards the path of progress and prosperity, and bring progress to UP),” said Akhilesh. “Cycle ke saath haath ho, aur haath ke pass cycle ho, to socho raftar kitni hogi (If the cycle and the hand are together, imagine the speed),” he said Akhilesh, reacting to Mulayam Singh’s agitation over the alliance.
Asked about an alliance with the SP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul said: “It is open for discussion. It has not been decided as of now but it is something that is a possibility.”
An alliance is about giving and take… Small compromises… how many seats in Amethi, how many in Rae Bareli will be sorted out after talks,” he said regarding the hurdles in seat-sharing, especially in Rae Bareli and Amethi,
Asked if Priyanka Vadra would campaign with Dimple Yadav, Rahul replied, “As far as Priyanka is concerned, she is my sister and has been of tremendous help to me as I will continue to be of help to her. She is an asset to the Congress party, and it is a decision that she has to make.”
The two leaders later held a 12-km-long joint roadshow, atop a “UP Vijay Rath” with the slogan “UP ko yeh saath pasand hai”.
