Even after completing the formality of selecting a panel of two to five candidates for each Assembly segment going to polls in the first three phases, Congress is still looking forward to stitching an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. Both parties are desperate to retain the Muslim vote bank to defeat the Bharatiya Janta Party.
Akhilesh Yadav has been advocating a link-up with Congress, maintaining that together they could net more than 300 of the 403 Assembly seats even as Mulayam has been opposed to such a truck.
Congress has, however, not ruled out the possibility of a pre-poll alliance with like-minded parties like Samajwadi Party in UP. Its CM face Sheila Dikshit even went went to the extent of offering to step aside in favour of Akhilesh.
Congress sources maintained that Akhilesh would draw up a final strategy during his meeting with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, which is likely to take place sometime in the beginning of next week in New Delhi.
On Wednesday last, AICC general secretary and UP in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad, had said that the party was open to any alliance even as the party workers were against any kind of pact.
“As of now, we are working on recommendations of the screening committee for all 403 seats in the state... What can happen in future will be known in due course of time... But there is a lot of pressure on secular parties (for alliance),” Azad had said in lucknow on Wednesday.
It may be mentioned that talks for an alliance with Congress had hit a roadblock with Mulayam Singh ruling out the possibility and favouring only a merger of parties with the SP. With the Akhilesh faction gaining its strenglehold over the SP, the possibility of a truck with Congress has suddenly brightened.
With the traditional vote bank of Samajwadi Party - the mUslim, appearing to be confused BSP chief Mayawati is eyeing the minority community voters. The BSP has decided to field as many as 97 Muslim candidates of the 403 seats, the highest number fielded by any party in UP so far, to bolster her party’s electoral chances.
Besides, Mayawati has been cautioning Muslims that if they voted for the crisi-ridden SP, they would be inadvertently helping the BJP.
Realising this, the SP might join hands with Congress to bring about a greater consolidation of Muslim voters that would boost the allies for countering the BSP move.
Congress and SP leaders believe that an alliance between them would reassure voters that the regional party’s core Yadav-Muslim combination was intact.