Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday met senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, setting off speculation about a possible alliance in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections next year.

Singh, in a tweet, however, said that the two leaders discussed repressive policies of the BJP and the recently held Zilla Panchayat elections where the party registered a big victory.

“Thank you very much for giving meeting despite the election. There was an intense discussion on the repressive policies of the BJP and the issue of converting loktantra (democracy) into loottantra (looting) in the Zilla Panchayat elections,” Singh tweeted in Hindi.

The BJP registered a landslide victory in local body elections in the state on Saturday, winning 67 of 75 seats of the district panchayat chief.

Former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s party won only five seats while the Rashtriya Lok Dal, Jansatta Dal and an independent candidate managed to bag one seat each.

Akhilesh Yadav’s allegations against BJP

Yadav on Saturday alleged that the ruling BJP made a mockery of the elections to the posts of district panchayat chief, alleging that it “kidnapped” voters and used “force” to prevent them from voting.

“To convert its defeat into victory, the BJP got the voters kidnapped, used force with the help of police and administration to stop them from voting,” the SP chief alleged in a party release.

The BJP made a mockery of all democratic norms, something not seen earlier, he alleged.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said it is strange that while most results in the elections for the zila panchayat members were in favour of the Samajwadi Party, the BJP gained in the polls for the district panchayat chief.