Cracks surface in SP alliance over Congress manifesto

New Delhi: Differences seem to have surfaced between allies Samajwadi Party and the Congress two days before the first ballot is cast in the high-stake Uttar Pradesh Assembly election on February 11. The SP is upset with the Congress for releasing a “separate but similar manifesto”.

On Thursday, the SP made it clear that the alliance needs to have a Common Minimum  Programme (CMP) if it came to power in the state, indicating that issues raised and promises made in the Congress’ manifesto have already been accomplished by the Akhilesh Yadav government.

“Most of the points in the Congress manifesto have already been delivered by the Akhilesh govenment,” Kironmay Nanda, Rajya Sabha MP and close associate of Akhilesh Yadav, told this newspaper.

Clearly hinting that the Congress will be treated as a junior partner in the alliance, Mr Nanda said, “SP is capable of getting a simple majority on its own, but we have allied with Congress to cross the 300 mark”. He made it clear that if the alliance came to power, “it has to have a CMP.” Elections to the 403-member UP Assembly is to be held in seven phases, starting February 11. In the current UP Assembly, the SP has a strength of 224 and the Congress 28.

The Congress manifesto, released on Wednesday, focussed on youth, farmers and dalits and virtually copied some of the welfare schemes the Akhilesh Yadav government had launched. The Congress has promised free bicycles to girl students, grants to  Scheduled Caste youth to start businesses and more.