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Congress-SP alliance likely in U.P.

Atiq Khan

LUCKNOW: Decks have apparently been cleared for an understanding between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections next year.

There is also the possibility of the Rashtriya Lok Dal figuring in the broad alliance, in a bid to counter the challenge posed by Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati. The Congress-SP alliance is likely to be extended to other States, All India Congress Committee general secretary and in-charge for U.P. affairs Digvijay Singh said in Allahabad on Thursday.

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister was in the city to attend a meeting of the U.P. Congress Coordination Committee. The meeting was attended by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who later addressed a public meeting on the Kayastha Pathshala ground.

Mr. Singh said that the process of forging an alliance between the two parties would be initiated in New Delhi on August 30 and 31, when senior Samajwadi leaders, including the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh, and national general secretary Amar Singh would sit with Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Digvijay Singh. Uttar Pradesh Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi would also be present.

The discussions would centre on the seat sharing formula. The AICC general secretary said the Congress was likely to make a pitch for 20 to 25 seats. If RLD president Ajit Singh joined them, five seats may be given to his party. The remaining seats would be left to the Samajwadi Party. Mr. Digvijay Singh said that the seat-sharing formula in other States may also be discussed.

The possibility of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party coming together in Uttar Pradesh ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha polls gained ground after Mr. Mulayam Singh pledged support to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the India-U.S. nuclear agreement. The Samajwadi Party supported the UPA government in the trust vote in Parliament on July 22, although it had to contend with desertions by five of its MPs, who switched their loyalties to Ms. Mayawati.

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