Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav supported West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for the 2026 Assembly elections, asserting that the BJP’s ‘conspiracy’ would fail. Yadav also predicted that the BJP would lose the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2027.

Addressing reporters in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav said, ‘In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee is going to win by a large margin of votes. These BJP people conspire everywhere. This time, their conspiracy will not work. First, they will lose in Bengal, and then they will lose in UP as well’.

During a recent visit to Kolkata, Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a blistering attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, and said that ‘fear and corruption’ have become the identity of West Bengal for the last 14 years. He also questioned Mamata Banerjee over the alleged infiltration of illegal immigrants in the state, accusing her government of refusing to provide land for border fencing.

While, Mamata Banerjee hit back at union home minister Amit Shah, equating him with Mahabharata characters Duryodhana and Dushasana.

Samajwadi Party chief also targeted Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in the state, alleging pressure on Election Commission officials.

Yadav said, ‘When the chief minister said that four crore votes had been deducted from his count, he was essentially telling the officials to commit fraud... The data emerging at this time proves that the Election Commission and its officials need to demonstrate their credibility. Because if there is a discrepancy between figures from the state government and those from SIR, the EC will have to consider the purpose of SIR and the whole revision process’.