Speculations are high that Congress would not give any candidate for the Council polls to facilitate Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party to ensure victory for their one extra candidate respectively.
Interestingly, a big section of the Party leaders are camping to convince the top leadership to go in for contest as in case of voting for the 12 seats, horse-trading is on the card and many leaders are likely to be a gainer. However, if Congress not fielded any candidate than all the 12 candidates would be declared unopposed. Not only Congress, many other smaller Parties and even Independent too wanted a contest as only in case of voting, they could struck a deal for a `vote’. Sources in the Congress confirmed that the top leadership of the Party is advocating a return gift both for SP and BSP which helped not only the United Progressive Alliance government in the second tenure, but SP had also facilitated victory of their two Rajya Sabha candidates, Pramod Tewari and Pl Punia, besides one more Rajya Sabha MP. Sources also confirmed that the leaders are of the view that supporting SP and BSP would help them in the future and fielding a candidate is going to make no difference as even if they could manage a win even than they had going to get nothing in the Council. Sources in the Samajwadi Party also confirmed that the Party supremo, Mulayam Singh Yadav is confident that even if Congress would field any candidate, even then he had a secret support of at least a dozen legislators belonging to Congress.
Meanwhile, the Congress which so far showed no positive sign of reviving the Organisation in this biggest State of the Country, once again summoned senior leaders as well as district and city unit presidents to discuss strategy for revival of the Oldest political outfit of the country. Giving this information here on Wednesday, chairman of the Media Cell of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, Satyadeo Tripathi, said thaton Thursday morning, 30 senior leaders which included all former union ministers, former state presidents, both Congress legislative Party leaders, Rajya Sabha Members and some other leaders who remained minister in the Congress government, along with four secretaries of All India Congress Committee would participate in the meeting. In the afternoon, meeting of all district and city unit chiefs would be held. He claimed that both the meetings will be headed by State president, Dr Nirmal Khatri and general secretary of AICC, Madhusudan Mistri, who is also incharge of the Party affairs here in UP.