The Hindu : New Delhi News : No alliance with Mayawati, says Jaitley

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No alliance with Mayawati, says Jaitley

Special Correspondent

BJP to contest all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: Less than a week after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani hinted in Kanpur at an understanding with the Bahujan Samaj Party, the BJP general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh elections, Arun Jaitley, ruled out such a possibility.

“The BJP will contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. There is no question of my party aligning with any party outside the National Democratic Alliance. Especially, there is no question at all of any electoral arrangement with the BSP, the Samajwadi Party or the Congress.”

‘Good for BJP’

Mr. Jaitley was trying to scotch speculation on a BSP-BJP tie-up, after clear signals emerged that the Samajwadi Party and the Congress were cosying up to each other on the nuclear deal and working out an electoral arrangement.

Mr. Jaitley said the Congress going with the SP would be a “good thing for the BJP.” Muslims would consolidate in favour of a Congress-SP alliance, while Hindus, he hoped, would root for the BJP especially in urban areas. However, not all colleagues share his optimism.

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