Congress rules out tieup with Samajwadi Party in UP Assembly polls

Lucknow: Amidst speculations that chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is warming up for an alliance with Congress, UPCC president Raj Babbar on Monday said that speculations of an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections were designed to create confusion and demoralise Congress workers in the state.

Mr Babbar, while talking to this correspondent on Monday, said, “An alliance is not even under consideration and we are preparing to contest all 403 seats in UP. There is no proposal or even thinking on an alliance. The question is hypothetical, but vested interests are fuelling these talks to create confusion in the Congress ranks”.

It is noteworthy that though Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav has already ruled out any alliance, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav recently indicated that he was open to the idea of a tie-up with the Congress.

Mr Babbar, once again, declined to comment on the role of political strategist Prashant Kishore whose meetings with SP leaders have triggered reports of an alliance between Congress and Samajwadi Party.

“As UPCC president I can say that the party high command has not informed me of any such possibility. If anyone is meeting with other party leaders, he is doing it in his individual capacity and certainly not on behalf of the Congress,” he stated.

Mr Babbar said that candidates on all 403 seats are in the process of being finalised and the list is likely to be released by the end of December.

He said that the Congress was no longer “down in the dumps” — as some political rivals insisted. “Things are changing and anyone who is familiar with the ground realities in Uttar Pradesh knows this. The people are talking about The Congress and those who claim that the party is a zero will be taken aback when the results come in,” he said.

Mr Babar said that the party had connected with the common man though various campaigns which were still continuing. He said that activity in the UP Congress had slowed down due to the ongoing Parliament session but would pick up soon.

“As it is people are weary of SP, BSP and BJP and want an alternative”, he added.

Replying to a question, the UPCC chief said that demonetisation had generated considerable anger among the people who were suffering due to cash crunch and the failure of the Modi government to provide relief even after almost a month is a matter of concern.