Akhilesh not contesting UP polls as he understood SP won't come to power: Union Minister

New Delhi [India], November 2 : Following Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav's announcement of not contesting the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Union Minister Kaushal Kishore on Monday said that Yadav has understood that his party is not going to come to power and it is Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that will form the government.
Speaking to ANI, Kishore said, "He is going to get fewer seats than he got last time. That is why he must have taken this decision. He must have understood that BJP is coming to power again with a thumping majority."
Notably, Akhilesh Yadav has made an announcement that he would not contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
On SP forming an alliance with Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the union minister said, "What had happened in 2019? SP and BSP had formed an alliance but could not achieve anything. So it does not matter with whom they form an alliance."
He further slammed the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister for allegedly comparing Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
"Akhilesh Yadav has compared Mohammad Ali Jinnah to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It was Muhammad Ali Jinnah who broke India into two pieces. He was not a patriot. Rather Jinnah was greedy for power. He divided the nation in the name of religion. Akhilesh ji has made a big mistake," Kishore stated.
On the occasion of the 146th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel which is celebrated as 'National Unity Day', Yadav was addressing a gathering when he remarked that Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah studied in the same institute, where they became barristers and fought for India's independence.
"Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah studied in the same institute. They became barristers and fought for India's freedom," Yadav had said.
Assembly polls are scheduled to be held early next year.