Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday expressed his gratitude to the people of Uttar Pradesh and assured that the party will not let them down and "fulfil the trust" they reposed on the party.
In a post on his official X handle, Akhilesh Yadav wrote, "Dear sensible voters of UP... It is also a victory of the trust of the Dalit-Bahujan community, which, along with its backward, minority, tribal, and all the neglected, exploited, and oppressed sections of society, fought shoulder to shoulder to save the Constitution, which gives the right to equality, respect, self-respect, dignified life, and reservation."
The post came after Akhilesh Yadav led the Samajwadi Party to its best-ever show in a general election, clinching 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh to emerge as the third-largest party in the 18th Lok Sabha.
While the SP won 37 seats, the Congress also bagged 6 seats to restrict the BJP to 33 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Asserting that this was a victory for the "protectors of the Constitution", the SP chief said, "Dear voters, you have proved that no one's power nor anyone's deceit is greater than the power of the people. This time, the people have won, not the rulers."
Thanking the people of Uttar Pradesh and the country, SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chaand said, "SP has become the third-largest party in the country, and the credit goes to the people of UP and the nation. We thank all the minorities, backward people, Dalits, and farmers."
He also told IANS that the party would finalise its roadmap for the next course of action by Wednesday evening.
"Neither the BJP nor the INDIA bloc has achieved a majority. We will make a roadmap and decide accordingly. The NDA will also make efforts, and we will see who succeeds," said Hasan, adding that the party is "immensely grateful to the people of UP".
Mocking the BJP, the SP spokesperson added, "There is no tax on dreaming. They were dreaming when the public questioned them on paper leaks, Agnipath scheme, inflation, and farmers' income. They had no answer to these questions. On the other hand, SP raised public issues, and hence the people chose us."
Hasan added that the victory was possible because the farmers, the poor, and the youth protesting against the Agnipath scheme supported the party after being "ignored by the BJP".
With inputs from IANS
