Maya-Akhilesh says their alliance ''permanent''

In an apparent bid to allay fears among their supporters, BSP supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that their alliance in Uttar Pradesh in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls would continue in the state assembly elections, to be held in 2022, also.

''It is a permanent alliance....it will continue in UP assembly polls,'' Mayawati said in reply to a question at a joint press conference here.

The two parties had joined hands in 1993 UP assembly polls also and had also formed a coalition government with Mulayam Singh Yadav as the chief minister.

The alliance, however, did not last long and in 1995 BSP founder Kanshiram decided to withdraw support to the coalition government.

Angry over the withdrawal of support, SP workers had allegedly attacked Mayawati, who was staying at the UP government Guest House here. The alliance broke on a bitter note and since then the two parties became rivals in the state politics.

Though Mayawati said that the alliance would continue in the 2022 state assembly polls, she did not elaborate on who would be the chief ministerial candidate.