Asaduddin Owaisi criticises Akhilesh Yadav over BJP win in UP bypolls

|HT|

Asaduddin Owaisi, the member of parliament from Hyderabad, on Sunday sharpened his attack on Akhilesh Yadav after the Samajwadi Party lost its bastions to the BJP in the bypolls for Azamgarh and Rampur. The former chief minster - who had emerged as the BJP's key challenger in crucial state elections for UP - had failed to stop the ruling party from coming to power in the February-March elections. He had, however, highlighted the significant improvement in the SP's tally in the state assembly.

But the defeat in the latest by-elections is undoubtedly a huge setback for the party. The AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) chief, criticising the leader of opposition in the state assembly, blamed it on Akhilesh Yadav's arrogance.

"Akhilesh Yadav is so arrogant. His father (former UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav) was a member of parliament from that seat. Then he got elected. He does not even go there to tell people why he was not contesting from the seat," the Hyderabad MP said in an interview.

"The Uttar Pradesh by-poll results show Samajwadi Party is inacapable of defeating BJP... they don't have intellectual honesty. Minority community shouldn't vote for such incompetent parties. Who is responsible for BJP's win,.. now, whom will they name as B-team, C-team," he added.

The 'B-team' reference was probably linked to Mayawati's comments who has been bashing Akhilesh Yadav and others for calling her 'the B-team' of the BJP over her party's poor show in the state elections.

Bypolls were held in Azamgarh months after AKhilesh Yadav chose to lead the opposition's charge in the state assembly and resigned from the Lok Sabha seat. The Rampur seat has been a stronghold of SP leader Azam Khan, who has been booked in dozens of cases by the state police. The SP, however, calls it 'vendetta politics'.

Bhojpuri actor-singer and BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua' won the Azamgarh seat while another BJP candidate, Ghanshyam Lodhi, wrested the Rampur parliamentary seat from the Samajwadi Party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, congratulating the party for its efforts, tweeted: "The by-poll wins in Azamgarh and Rampur are historic. It indicates wide-scale acceptance and support for the double engine Governments at the Centre and in UP. Grateful to the people for their support. I appreciate the efforts of our Party Karyakartas.

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