Kapil Sibal met Akhilesh in Lucknow and was accompanied by the SP chief while he filed his nomination for the Upper House of the Parliament.
Senior Congress leader and former union minister Kapil Sibal Wednesday filed his nomination for Rajya Sabha elections in the presence of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and party MP Ram Gopal Yadav and said that he had quit the Congress on May 16. Sibal also said he has filed the nomination as an Independent candidate.
Speaking to the media after filing the nomination, Sibal said, “You know that I used to raise my voice in Rajya Sabha. Last time also I was a UP candidate. I used to raise your voice then and will do the same in the next six years as well. I am not a Congress leader anymore. I had submitted my resignation on May 16.”
“While being in Opposition, we want to create an alliance so that we can oppose the Modi govt. We want that in 2024, an atmosphere is created where the faults of the Modi government reach the people. We will try for that,” Sibal added.
Sibal met Akhilesh in Lucknow and was accompanied by the SP chief while he filed his nomination for the Upper House of Parliament.
Eleven seats of the Upper House are headed for elections on June 10, with the fight being between the ruling BJP and the SP.
Interestingly, Sibal was the one who represented senior SP leader Azam Khan during his bail hearings in the Supreme Court. “I am thankful to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav that he supported me. I also wish to convey my gratitude to Azam Khan for the support that he has given me, not just now but over several years,” Sibal added.
Asked about the differences between Azam and SP chief Akhilesh, he said, “Why are you asking me this?”
Sibal’s term along with others was to end on July 4. Of the 11 seats that fall vacant on July 4, five are of the BJP, four of the SP, two of BSP and one of Congress. However, this time around, the Congress, which has only two members in the Assembly, and the BSP, which has one member, may not be able to get their candidates elected to the Upper House. Of the 245 seats in the Rajya Sabha, 31 members are elected from Uttar Pradesh.
Reacting to the development, Akhilesh told ANI, “Today Kapil Sibal filed nomination. He is going to Rajya Sabha with SP’s support. Two more people can go to the House. Kapil Sibal is a senior lawyer. He has presented his opinions well in the Parliament. We hope he’ll present the opinions of both SP as well as himself.”
