Formation of alliance a difficult task as two rival parties will have to work together: Congress

Terming formation of alliance a difficult task, Congress on Monday said that it takes time to take the decision as two parties who have been fighting elections against each other for last 25 years will have to come together and work.

"It is very difficult to form an alliance and it takes time for this decision as two parties who fight elections against each other will have to come together and work. Winning the elections and forming the government are not the only aim of the Congress and SP alliance, but to remove the communal violence and maintain peace is our main moto," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told ANI.

Azad further said that they didn't want the secular votes to be divided among two or three parties and let Bharatiya Janata Party win the election.

Talking about further strategy, he said: "Gathering secular forces and campaigning are our strategy for the upcoming days."

Azad also congratulated the SP and Congress leaders who kept all rivalries aside and formed an alliance for the county's development and to keep the secular forces alive.

The Samajwadi Party and Congress yesterday firmed up an alliance for next month's high-voltage Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls at a joint press briefing. They vowed to make Akhilesh Yadav the chief minister of the politically crucial state yet again while promising to free the state from communal and divisive forces.

The formal announcement of SP-Congress alliance has come after discussions by the two sides over few days before they agreed to 298-105 formula.

The poll process in Uttar Pradesh begins on February 11. 73 constituencies in western Uttar Pradesh will go polls in this phase. The filing of nominations for these constituencies will end on January 24.

Uttar Pradesh is set to have a seven-phase polling between February 11 and March 8.