Swaraj India rules out being part of any grand alliance

New Delhi: Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav said on Sunday that his party will not be part of any “mahagathbandhan” (grand alliance) of Opposition parties for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Mr. Yadav along with other Swaraj India leaders launched the party's campaign “Rashtra Nirman Ke Liye Lok Abhiyan” and held a press briefing.

“We are not going to be part of any mahagathbandhan for the 2019 elections. Power is not the aim of our politics. We want to teach a lesson to those who have been spoilt by power,” Mr. Yadav said.

Swaraj India favours replacing the current ruling party at the Centre but it doesn’t mean all other parties could be supported without due consideration, he said.

The politician, who spearheaded a massive farmers’ protest at the Ramlila Maidan here recently, prophesied that the result of the 2019 polls will be similar to the election held after the Emergency in which the Indira Gandhi regime was uprooted.

He said that farmers’ issues have finally arrived at the national platform after many years and will prove to be a key factor in the Lok Sabha polls.

“Our aim is to defeat the anti-farmer party and keep others in check who claim to be champions of farmers’ cause,” Mr. Yadav said.

Party leader Ajit Jha said that the BJP may succeed in saving its government at the Centre but a large number of people, who supported it in the 2014 elections, will not vote for it this time.