Rahul and I are like two wheels of bicycle, Akhilesh said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday held a joint conference ahead of the high-stakes assembly elections in state.
Speaking at the press conference, Rahul Gandhi said, "Our alliance with Samajwadi Party is for development, prosperity and peace. The alliance is the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna out of which the Saraswati of development will come out."
"In the words of Modi ji, these are three Ps of progress, prosperity and peace," Rahul said, adding, "The alliance has made the personal and political relationship between Akhilesh and me better."
Praising Akhilesh, he said, "I hailed Akhilesh earlier too and pointed out that he was not being allowed to do good work."
"It is a historical alliance, it is a partnership between me and Akhilesh, Congress-SP to defeat fascist forces," Rahul said.
Hailing Priyanka Gandhi's contribution to the party's campaign in the state, Rahul said, "Priyanka has been of tremendous help to me and I have been so to her. If she campaigns or not is her choice. She is an asset to Congress."
Addressing the media, Akhilesh said, "We (Rahul and I) are like two wheels of bicycle... not much difference in age between us. Today is the beginning. Rahul and I will take UP ahead on the path of prosperity."
"This alliance will answer those who made the nation stand in queues," he said, taking a dig at the PM's demonetization move, and added, "I will add the fourth P, a people's alliance will emerge from here."
On being asked about the Congress-SP seat sharing arrangement in Amethi and Raebareli, Akhilesh, "If we reveal everything right now, there will be no masala left."
"This alliance isn't opportunistic. We will explain to Modi ji, BJP and RSS that UP and its people are one and we will not let them create divide," said Rahul.
The Congress is contesting 105 seats while the ruling Samajwadi Party is contesting 298 seats in the UP assembly election.
Uttar Pradesh will be voting for a new state assembly in a seven-phase election, voting for which begins on February 11 and concludes on March 8.
A joint poster with the slogan 'UP ko yeh saath pasand hai' with photos of both Rahul and Akhilesh and their respective party symbols was also released on the occasion.
The Congress-SP alliance is to counter rivals Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), making the contest across the state triangular.
Soon after the alliance was struck, BSP supremo Mayawati got the support of mafia-turned MLA Mukhtar Ansari's party Quami Ekta Dal (QED) to consolidate its Muslim vote bank in some constituencies of eastern districts where the Ansari brothers have their strong influence.
With ANI and PTI inputs.
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