Mulayam hopeful of clean sweep in UP polls

Deoria, Jan 23 (ANI): With Uttar Pradesh assembly elections around the corner, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has said that he expects his party to make a clean sweep in the state polls.

Urging voters to ensure the downfall of the Congress party as well as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Yadav said that the onus lies on voters not to give these parties the power to destroy the state.

"The Congress party does not stand a strong chance in the forthcoming elections. I also think that not many Congress candidates will win, you people should ensure that not more than 15 to 20 candidates win. As far as the BSP is concerned, I think it would be wiped out from the state. It should not be given the power to destroy the state any further," Yadav told a gathering here.

Uttar Pradesh polls are being viewed as an opportunity for major parties to re-establish their foothold in the country's fifth largest and most populous state.

Polls in Uttar Pradesh are to be conducted in seven phases between February 8 and March 3. The counting of votes would take place on March 6.

Uttar Pradesh will elect a new 403-member state assembly in March, and the poll results are expected to broadly indicate trends for the 2014 general elections. (ANI)