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The Congress announced a Bihar-style grand alliance with Uttar Pradesh’s Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday, the first day for filing of nominations for the preliminary phase of Assembly polls. The grand old party’s chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit withdrew from the fray, as there could only be “only one CM in an alliance”.
“… For the moment, we are in a position to say that the Grand Alliance will be formed. And I am confident that the SP-Congress alliance will form the next government in UP,” Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress General Secretary in charge of UP, told a press conference.
It is learnt that besides the SP and the Congress, talks are also on with Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which is a strong contender for the Jat votes in western UP. Although SP National President Akhilesh Yadav refrained from announcing a deal, he said a “decision will be taken in a day or two”.
The young Chief Minister had received a major shot in the arm on Monday when the Election Commission awarded the SP’s election symbol to him, and not the faction led by his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Since then, the negotiations for seat-sharing have picked up because both Congress VP Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh have been keen on the alliance. The move had been blocked by Mulayam, who can no longer stymie it.
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