Shivpal made the statement to newspersons in Amethi on Thursday when he was asked to comment on Rai’s frequent utterances that the Congress would contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh
Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary Shivpal Yadav has said that Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai must alter his thinking (towards the INDIA alliance) or else his statements would be harmful (to the Opposition bloc).
Shivpal made the statement to newspersons in Amethi on Thursday when he was asked to comment on Rai’s frequent utterances that the Congress would contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Yadav was in Amethi to attend an event while returning to Lucknow from the SP workers’ conference “Lok Jagaran Abhiyan” in Pratapgarh.
“The INDIA alliance that has been made and the national leaderships are taking decisions. So he (Ajay Rai) should change his mindset and thinking, if he doesn’t change it then it will harm (the alliance),” Yadav said.
Rai’s frequent statements and counter statements by SP leaders are being construed in U.P. political circles as differences between the SP and the Congress—the two major constituents of INDIA alliance in the state.
Ajay Rai became the UP Congress chief on August 17 replacing Brijlal Khabri. Known as a firebrand leader, Rai had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi. As the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia chief back then, Shivpal had extended support to Rai.