Senior Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Wednesday said that without the inclusion of BSP chief Mayawati in the INDIA alliance, the BJP cannot be defeated in Uttar Pradesh.
"I am of the view that Behenji (Mayawati) is such a leader in Uttar Pradesh who is competent (enough) to affect 18 per cent to 22 per cent votes," Krishnam told PTI.
If the INDIA alliance is forged without her, there is no relevance in calling it a mega alliance, he said.
"If the BJP has to be defeated, then along with the SP, RLD and the Congress, Behenji should also be in the INDIA alliance. For this, I am inviting her," Krishnam said.
The Congress leader also said that if Mayawati did not become a part of the INDIA alliance, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not be defeated. "I am of the view that without taking Behenji along, defeating the BJP in UP is impossible," he said.
Acharya Pramod Krishnam had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow on a Congress ticket but lost to the BJP's Rajnath Singh.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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