Akhilesh pulls up Congress over Jaiswal's remark on Prez rule in UP

Saifai (Uttar Pradesh), Feb 23 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday took a dig at Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal's remark suggesting president's rule in Uttar Pradesh, and said that the statement reflected the Congress' disappointment over its failure to garner support.

"There is no place in a democracy for threats such as this. What the people decide is most important? The Congress has reason to be disappointed, given that the people have not supported them. There are many allegations against them, of graft, of inflation, which the Congress has to give answers," he told the media here after casting his vote.

Jaiswal, however, today said his statement suggesting president's rule in Uttar Pradesh has been twisted.

"Why should a leader of a party that is going to win in Uttar Pradesh say something like that? My statement was twisted. I was only explaining the constitutional reality, in case the Congress fails to get a majority as we are surely going to be the single largest party," he told the media in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav predicted a landslide victory for the party.

"The Samajwadi Party will win between 225-250 seats and form the government with a decisive and clear majority," he said.

Shivpal Yadav was corroborated by his cousin and party spokesperson Ram Gopal Yadav, who predicted a strong show for the Samajwadi Party in the fifth phase.

"The Samajwadi Party is going to win over two-thirds of the 49 seats being voted for in this phase," Ram Gopal Yadav said.

Polling for the fifth phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh for 49 seats began at 7 a.m. today and will continue till 5 p.m.

Over 1.56 crore voters will be casting their votes in Firozabad, Kanshiram Nagar, Etah, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Ramabainagar, Kanpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Hamirpur and Mahoba districts.

Today's polling would decide the fate of several stalwarts and heavyweights including leader of Opposition in the state assembly Shivpal Singh Yadav, BJP leader Uma Bharti and former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh.

The Uttar Pradesh polls are being viewed as an opportunity for major political parties to re-establish their foothold in the country's fifth largest and most populous state. new 403-member state assembly will be elected in March. The poll results will broadly indicate trends for the 2014 general elections. (ANI)