Yadav claimed that the media only highlighted the family feud in SP, while the people of Uttar Pradesh were “befooled” by the BJP. “Despite rendering a good performance (by the Akhilesh Yadav government), the voters inflicted a defeat to the SP. The SP patron also categorically mentioned that whatever be his next step, it would be in the interest of the party and people. The state BJP said that the statement made by the SP chief indicated that he has not been able to digest the SP’s electoral loss in the UP Assembly polls. Shukla claimed that similar statements were made by the SP patron, after the BJP registered a landslide win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Source: Mint April 16, 2017 09:11 UTC