After deliberating on the possible of a tie-up for long, only to dither and pull away later, Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi Party, the Congress and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal may have well sealed an alliance, an announcement on which is expected next week.

BusinessLine has learnt that out of the 403 constituencies, the Congress and the RLD might get 100-120 seats, while the SP is likely to contest in 280-300 seats. A final announcement on the matter is likely to be made next week, once the Election Commission takes a decision on the question of SP’s symbol.

A senior SP leader told BusinessLine from Lucknow that “99 per cent work” on the alliance had been completed. “Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and senior leader Ramgopal Yadav were steering the talks. Talks are over now. The decision will be announced next week,” the leader said.

How the RLD can help

The SP hopes that the presence of the RLD will be a boost for the alliance not just in western Uttar Pradesh, but elsewhere in the State too.

“SP is weak in several seats in western Uttar Pradesh. An alliance with the RLD will be a major boost here. Not just here, RLD has pockets of influence all over the State. The votes of RLD could be 1,000 to 3,000 in several constituencies in other parts of the UP,” the leader said.

The SP calculates that whatever loss it may suffer due to the problems within the party can be compensated by the alliance. “We are trying to resolve the problems. If it’s not resolved in a day or two, it will be resolved during the course of poll campaign,” the leader said. He, however, said that fight between both the factions of the party — one led by party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and the other by his son Akhilesh — is expected in at least 30 constituencies.

Truce being worked out

Both the factions are waiting for the Election Commission’s decision on their respective demand for the use of “cycle” symbol. The Akhilesh faction is confident of winning the symbol as it enjoys the support of almost all MLAs, MPs and MLCs of the party.

A compromise formula has also been worked out by ensuring tickets to a couple of leaders who were expelled by the Chief Minister from the Cabinet, and by making Mulayam the party’s Chairman. The Akhilesh faction has also agreed to retain Akhilesh’s bête noire Shivpal Yadav as the President of party’s State unit. “The candidates, howver, will be picked by the Chief Minister,” another leader said.

On Friday, Akhilesh met Shivpal, his uncle, in Lucknow. A number of leaders who prefer “peace” have been urging members of the SP family to sit together and take a decision on Assembly polls. Some senior leaders had asked both Mulayam and Ramgopal to hold meetings without the presence of second-rung leaders who are not part of the family. While Akhilesh faction has objected to Amar Singh’s retention, the Mulayam camp is irked by Ramgopal.

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