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Small parties look to Congress for tie-up

LUCKNOW, FEB. 29 . With the Samajwadi Party indicating unwillingness to any pre-poll tie-up for Lok Sabha elections, smaller regional parties in Uttar Pradesh seeking an anti-NDA mandate are looking to Congress for such an arrangement, a Minister in the ruling alliance has said.

Mr Kaushal Kishore, a Minister of State in the SP-led ruling alliance, claimed his Rashtravadi Communist Party was in touch with the Congress. ``I have written a letter to Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav seeking a tie-up in the general elections. If there is no response, I would ally with the Congress as it is a secular party fighting the NDA,'' he told reporters.

But the Minister hastened to add that even if a tie-up with the SP failed for the general elections, his party would continue to remain in the ruling coalition. ``We are not switching camps... Congress too is extending outside support to the ruling alliance,'' he added.

Mr Kishore stated that there were other smaller parties too looking to the Congress for alliance.

Expressing similar sentiments, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Jagdambika Pal had said on Thursday that the party was in the process of firming up with various smaller parties to avert a split in anti-NDA votes in the Lok Sabha polls.

Mr Pal had told reporters that his party had spoken to Sonelal Patel's Apna Dal, Kaushal Kishore's Rashtravadi Communist Party, Dev Kumar Yadav's United Communist Party and Masood Ahmed's National Loktantrik Party on a pre-poll arrangement.

Mr Pal, however, did not say whether the Congress was planning an alliance or merger of such parties. Buoyed by the merger of Chowdhry Narendra Singh's Kisan Mazdoor Bahujan Party (KMBP) with Congress two days ago, Mr Pal said such an arrangement would help avoid split of anti-BJP and anti-NDA votes.

UNI

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