Akhilesh ready for 'one nation, one poll'

Buoyed by the Opposition's victory in the recently held bypolls in Kairana and Noorpur, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday expressed his readiness for ‘one nation, one poll’ but dared the BJP to hold the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh along with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"We are ready for simultaneous polls at the Centre and states....let the BJP also hold Assembly polls in UP in 2019 with the General Elections," Akhilesh told reporters here.

He said that the BJP government in the state had lost the confidence of the people and the same was evident by the defeat of the ruling party in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) leader, however, apprehended that the BJP government at the Centre might be planning to increase its tenure on the pretext of holding simultaneous polls at the Centre and in the states.

He said that the people of the state have given an “important message” by defeating the BJP in Kairana and Noorpur bypolls. “People have responded to the anti-farmer policies of the BJP governments,” the former chief minister added.

He also said that voters' list should be linked with the Aadhar. "We have no problem in adopting new technologies," he remarked.

Akhilesh lashed out at the Narendra Modi government and the Yogi Adityanath government for what he alleged turning a blind eye to the problems of the farmers.

“The economy of the country has been adversely affected by the Centre's faulty policies...only a handful people have become rich,” he said.