Samajwadi Party to contest Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh; Akhilesh Yadav says state lagging in development

Bhopal: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said his party would contest the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, but did not clarify whether it would enter into alliance with the Congress or the BSP. Talking to reporters in Bhopal, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said people were fed up with the fifteen-year-old BJP rule in the state. [caption id=“attachment_4442967” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav. PTI[/caption] When asked whether he had any plans to meet the state Congress president Kamal Nath to talk about alliance, Yadav said, “We have good relations with Kamal Nath. I can only say as of now that Samjawadi Party is going to contest elections in Madhya Pradesh.” To another question about possible alliance with Congress and BSP, he said, “Our discussions are going on with several people, but I will not disclose anything now.” Asked about chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s claim that roads in Madhya Pradesh were better than those in the US, Yadav said, “I visited Simaria, Satna and Rewa by road and did not find any road which is better than those in the US.” He alleged that Madhya Pradesh was lagging behind in development while corruption was rampant in the BJP-ruled state. “Investigating agencies have yet to conclude the probe of Vyapam scam (a scam related to recruitment in government jobs and admissions in educational institutes). This scam has claimed several lives,” Yadav said. The Centre’s data shows that Madhya Pradesh tops the country in the crime against women, but the BJP has mastered the art of distracting people’s attention from real issues, the Samajwadi Party leader said.