Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad claimed that Akhilesh Yadav doesn't want any Dalit caste leader in his alliance, he just wants Dalit vote bank in his party, he said "After all the discussions, in the end, I felt that Akhilesh Yadav does not want Dalits in this alliance, he just wants Dalit vote bank. He humiliated the people of Bahujan Samaj, I tried for 1 month 3 days but the alliance could not happen."
Earlier yesterday many BJP leaders who quit the party joined SP in the presence of Akhilesh Yadav. He also said that the joining of Swami Prasad Maruya and his seven members in SP will throw BJP's caste arithmetic to the wind in the 2022 elections.
He also commented on Yogi's '80 vs 20' remark and compared the elections as cricket game he said, "But the way wickets are falling that side (BJP) it seems the chief minister must have realised that he has dropped the catch," "Ab mujhe lagta hain... unhein ganit ka adhyapak bhi rakhna padega" he added.
Akhilesh said it was no longer about 80% and 20%. "Eighty percent people are standing with the SP after we entered into alliances with smaller parties and MLAs joined us. After listening to Swami Prasad Maurya ji today, the remaining 20% will go against them (BJP government)," he said.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India announced the voting dates for the Assembly polls of Uttar Pradesh. The UP will hold elections in 7 phases to elect 403 members of the Legislative Assembly in the state. The seven-phase election in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7.