The Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party alliance will each contest from 38 and 37 seats in the upcoming General Elections, party leaders Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav announced on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh holds 80 seats in the Lok Sabha.

On January 12, the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party and the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party had announced their decision to ally in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In what was a significant decision, the parties had excluded the Congress from their alliance.

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The announcement follows Samajwadi Party leader and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s criticism of the party’s alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party earlier on Thursday, ANI reported. “Party members are killing the Samajwadi Party,” Mulayam Singh Yadav had claimed. “The party has been very strong. We have formed the government three times in the state. I have become the chief minister three times and have even served as defence minister.”

Mulayam Singh Yadav told his party workers that the Bharatiya Janata Party is better prepared for the elections. “It [BJP] has an edge over us,” the veteran politician said.

On Wednesday, Mayawati said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is threatened by her outfit’s alliance.

On February 13, Mulayam Singh Yadav had said he hoped Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to power. His comment baffled and embarrassed his party’s leaders.