Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP), which had contested the 2017 assembly polls in one alliance in Uttar Pradesh, appeared to be on the warpath in the state ahead of the forthcoming elections which are due in March next year.
Within days of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra taking on SP president Akhilesh Yadav at a public meeting at Moradabad, the latter targeted the grand old party during his visit to Jhansi.
''I have no idea about Congress' role in the forthcoming assembly polls in UP......I have a feeling that the people of the state will reject the Congress and that it may not be able to win even a single seat,'' Akhilesh told reporters.
The retort came two days after Priyanka launched a scathing attack on Akhilesh at her rally at Moradabad and likened the SP to the BJP. ''The SP and BSP leaders speak the language spoken by the BJP,'' she had said.
''Where was Akhilesh when a dalit girl was raped and killed in Hathras?....where was Akhilesh when police shot dead CAA protesters? Did he visit any of the families of the victims? If not then why he is going to the people now?'' she said.
The war of words between the two former alliance partners was apparently aimed at attempts to portray who was the principal opposition party in the state and which party could effectively counter the BJP in the next assembly election.
''Both parties are targeting the Muslim votes.....Muslims usually support the party, which they think can put up a better fight against the BJP.....Priyanka had in the past met many families in western UP districts who had lost their members during protests against the CAA.....apparently, she is staking a claim on the Muslim votes,'' a Lucknow-based political analyst told DH.
He said that despite the bitter exchanges, the two parties could join hands in case if there was a hung assembly and BJP fell short of a majority and the SP reached closer to the halfway mark.
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