Strategic understanding reached with BSP and SP: Congress
NEW DELHI: SP, BSP and Congress have reached a strategic understanding to stitch an anti-BJP grand alliance in electorally crucial Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls, a top Congress leader has said.
“Talks are progressing” towards finalising the nitty-gritty for a seat-sharing arrangement and RLD too may join the alliance.
Terming Lalu Prasad and Sharad Pawar as Congress’ historical allies, the top Congress leader involved in alliance talks asserted “once a proper Opposition alliance is formed in UP, Bihar and Maharashtra, Narendra Modiji will not become the prime minister again.”
Indicating Congress’ readiness to settle for a lower number of seats vis-à-vis SP-BSP, the leader clarified that the question of which party will lead an anti-BJP government will depend on post-poll strength, making it clear that the Congress was not counting itself out for the PM post and countering recent impressions created through sloppy articulation.
Making it clear that it was political pragmatism to fight the BJP collectively without triggering a pre-poll debate on the PM candidate of the alliance, the leader said “our first phase is to unite and defeat BJP. The second phase, post-poll, will deal with other issues,” adding “all like-minded parties share this view.”
Underlining the Opposition would take up issues of the people, the leader said: “BJP and Modi’s Hindutva and polarisation agenda will not be allowed to work as the Congress has shown in Karnataka and Gujarat. The narration about invincibility of Modi, work of RSS cadre and polarisation are products of RSS campaign. We will not allow them to use polarise voters.”
ET had reported Congress and allies will readopt the 2004 strategy and fight state-wise alliances without declaring a PM candidate and that anti-BJP alliances works progressing in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Karnataka and J&K, which account for almost half the number of Lok Sabha seats. The top Congress leader said the AICC will take the final call on alliances by taking views of PCCs and in many states Congress units favour alliances.
