The alliance between the Congress and Rashtriya lok Dal(RlD)is on the verge of split after the RlD refused the offer of the Congress to contest the Bijnore assembly by-elections.
``We talked to RlD regarding the alliance in the on-going by-polls but they refused claiming that they would not contest elections as of now”, disclosed Congress legislative Party (ClP) leader, Pradeep Mathur, while replying that why Congress not went in alliance with anyone including RlD when the joint Opposition had shown a good result in Bihar and other states. Sources said that UP Congress offered the Bijnore assembly seat to the RlD but the latter refused at the last moment thus forcing the Congress to give candidature there.
A senior Congress leader disclosed here that RlD is now hobnobbing with the Samajwadi Party to get a Rajya Sabha seat for Ajit Singh and a ministerial berth for his son Jayant Choudhury, besides ensuring Junior Chowdhary’s entry in Council. He claimed that if Mulayam gave green signal to the demand, than Ajit Singh would merge RlD into SP. Sources also maintained that Amar Singh is playing a role of `bridge’ between Mulayam and Ajit Singh. In the last lok Sabha elections, Congress and RlD had a pre-poll alliance and the Congress left 10 seats for the RlD in UP.
Meanwhile, talking to media persons here on Tuesday afternoon, Pradeep Mathur said that he will suggest the party high command to have a ‘mega secular alliance’ in Uttar Pradesh like done in Bihar. “Such mega secular alliance is required in UP too to counter the BJP’s communal poll plank,”Mathur said while clarifying that it was his personal opinion which he would share with the high command. He announced that party has appointed senior leaders as in-charges at all the 11 assembly by-elections in the state. “I have been made in-charge for Saharanpur Sadar seat, Ms Rita Bahuguna Joshi for lucknow east seat and several others for the remaining 9 seats,” he disclosed.
The Congress leader said that after the Bihar success, the prospect of the party in UP is also good as the Narendra Modi fobia has elapsed after his promise of ‘acche din’ nowhere seen.”Modi has become a Mauni baba and was silent on every big issues when Pakistan is attacking India regularly and the government has failed in all aspects in just three months of the regime,” he alleged. He also attacked Samajwadi Party on deteriorating law and order issue, and said that 250 communal riots in last two years regime of SP just showed that they were working hand-in-glove with BJP just to polarise the voters on religion line.