A day after Samajwadi Party (SP) national vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda credited the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) defeat to corruption and misgovernance, Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya immediately seized on the statement, saying that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav should wait for his 2027 defeat, which he predicted would be worse than those of Tejashwi Yadav and Mamata Banerjee.
Reacting to Nanda’s statement in Lucknow on Tuesday, Keshav Prasad Maurya said, “If he is telling the truth, it is a good thing. He should also tell Akhilesh Yadav that the blooming of the lotus symbolises good governance and development. He (Akhilesh), on the other hand, sees it as a black day. He should wait for his defeat in 2027. His defeat will be worse than those of Tejashwi Yadav and Mamata Banerjee. He should wait for 2027; people will send him back to Saifai.”
Though Nanda’s statement received no official direct condemnation, sources said senior SP leaders privately expressed their annoyance. Nanda subsequently chose to remain silent.
Earlier on Monday, following the West Bengal assembly election results, the SP national vice-president had said that the people of Bengal voted against the corruption and misgovernance of the Trinamool government.
Speaking exclusively to HT over the phone on Monday evening, Nanda said the writing was “on the wall.” He explained that this is why he did not campaign for any candidate in the West Bengal elections and had even informed SP national president Akhilesh Yadav that the TMC would lose.
Akhilesh Yadav kept himself away from campaigning in the West Bengal elections.
“In West Bengal, there were serious corruption and atrocities charges against the TMC. People want development and a corruption-free government,” he said. The veteran leader, a former West Bengal MLA and minister with Left Front, drew a sharp contrast between previous state governments and the TMC regime.
