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India's Congress ties up with northern state of Uttar Pradesh's ruling party to defeat Modi's BJP

Xinhua, January 30, 2017 Adjust font size:

India's main opposition Congress party Sunday tied up with the ruling, regional Samajwadi Party of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the crucial upcoming assemble polls.

The political alliance was announced by Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party's second-in-command, and Akhilesh Yadav, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party's current chief, at a media meet in state capital Lucknow.

Yadav said that he and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi were actually the two wheels of development of the same cycle, referring to his party's poll symbol, while Gandhi described the political marriage as Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh.

"We are friends, but that is different. We want to end the politics of anger of the BJP. We are contesting the elections on similarities and we are both making compromises for the youth of Uttar Pradesh and its development," Gandhi added.

Uttar Pradesh is the most politically important state of India with 403 assembly seats and it's seen as a mini-referendum for Modi's demonetization move. Samajwadi Party and the current opposition Bahujan Samaj Party, led by woman leader Mayawati, take turns every five years to rule the state. Endit