Senior Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav on Wednesday said only the SP can defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
Shivpal Yadav said the SP follows the ideals of Lord Ram and Krishna and accused the BJP of harassing Muslims.
"SP alone is capable of defeating the BJP in UP. All socialists should unite. My target is to remove BJP from power (at the Centre) in 2024 and make Akhilesh the next chief minister of UP in 2027," Shivpal Yadav told reporters when asked about the possible alliance of opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Asked about the likelihood of daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav, who is in the BJP, of joining the SP, Shivpal Yadav said, "She is with her family in good and bad times. She is our daughter-in-law."
On chances of BJP MP Varun Gandhi joining the SP, he said, "All those who ant to throw the corrupt BJP government out of power are welcome."
When asked if party chief Akhilesh Yadav will attend Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra's concluding event in Srinagar, he said, "Our good wishes are with Rahul Gandhi but the party has to take a decision on this."
Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's advice to BJP workers to reach out to Muslims without expecting votes in return, Yadav said as Lok Sabha polls are near, the PM, after nine years, is showing concern towards Muslims, who have been subjected to "harassment" under the BJP regime.
Shivpal Yadav further said that he has accepted nephew Akhilesh Yadav as his leader and SP is his party.
"Akhilesh Yadav is my nephew and SP president. I have accepted him as my leader. Like him, I am also an SP MLA. SP is my party and I have held various party posts earlier," he said when asked why he hasn't got any post in the party yet.
After being sidelined by the Samajwadi Party in 2016, Shivpal Yadav formed the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) in 2018 and contested against nephew Akshay Yadav from Firozabad.
However, the uncle-nephew duo came together during the Mainpuri bypoll following the death of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Shivpal Yadav also accepted the Samajwadi Party flag in Etawah and vowed to work to strengthen the party.
