Akhilesh Yadav had challenged Yogi Adityanath to contest from Ayodhya.
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, in turn, urged his Samajwadi Party rival to also fight from Ayodhya, saying the two should settle the contest “face to face”.
“If both Akhilesh Yadav and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh are so popular and liked, then the Chief Minister should come and contest from Sambhal, and Akhilesh should go and contest from Gorakhpur.
God willing, the people and AIMIM will defeat them in both places,” Owaisi, speaking in Hindi, told NDTV. When asked if the BJP’s “80-20” narrative would hold sway, Owaisi dismissed the discourse often cited by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, declaring that the real political battle in the state will be “99 vs 1.”
“The real competition in the upcoming election will actually be ’99 vs 1′. The 99% represents the poor citizens of Uttar Pradesh, while the 1% represents those who have captured 40% of India’s wealth. So, the 80-20 scenario isn’t going to play out; it will be a 99% versus 1% contest,” Owaisi said.
“We will contest the election on our own and make our own party decisions; we will form alliances wherever possible,” Owaisi said. Owaisi played down the criticism that he was attacking the Opposition and not countering the BJP as much, saying possibly “they have a hearing problem”.
Earlier this month, Owaisi had offered to ally with the Samajwadi Party to prevent the BJP from returning to power in Uttar Pradesh for a third consecutive term.
