Political buzz set off by Akhilesh-Mayawati meet, Cong not worried

A political buzz was set off on Saturday in the wake of a meeting between Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati, reportedly on seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Reports suggested that Akhilesh and Mayawati were inclined to keep the Congress out of the proposed alliance, prompting senior Congress leader P L Punia to say that his party could go it alone.

"The chiefs of Samajwadi Party and BSP held a meeting and discussions were held over the alliance," Punia told ANI. "Both the political parties (SP and BSP) are independent to take their own decisions. How can a third person interfere," he added.

Punia said: "Our national president Rahul Gandhi has clarified that every state and region will make efforts for forging a coalition from their own end so that the UPA returns to power in 2019. Talks are going on in various states. In UP, if the BSP and the SP have decided to go solo, it is their independent decision."

"If no coalition takes place, then the Congress would also go solo everywhere. The party workers are all set for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Whatever decision other parties take for themselves, they will take it according to their own understanding and considering the benefits for their own parties," added the Congress leader.

On reports that Akhilesh and Mayawati were inclined to keep his party out of the proposed alliance, Punia said, "The Congress is doing its own politics and all the leaders and workers are ready for the upcoming polls."

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav feigned ignorance about the meeting.

"I don't have any information whether Akhilesh and Mayawati met," Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters in Etawah when asked about reports that the two leaders had met on Friday and discussed seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls.

On whether the SP and the BSP had firmed up an alliance, he said any such development can be confirmed only by Akhilesh and Mayawati. Asked to comment on reports that Akhilesh and Mayawati were in a mood to keep the Congress out of the alliance, the Samajwadi Party general secretary termed these as 'imaginative.'

Commenting on the reports, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain ruled out any impact on his party due to an alliance between the SP and the BSP.

"In the 2014 elections, SP, except for the family seats, was a zero. Similarly, the BSP got zero seats. When two zeros meet, they make a big zero," he told ANI. Hussain said the people of Uttar Pradesh are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The people of UP played a big role in making Narendra Modi the Prime Minister of the country," the BJP leader added.

Uttar Pradesh plays a crucial role in the formation of the Central government as it has 80 Lok Sabha seats out of the total of 543 in the Lower House of Parliament.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP made almost a clean sweep, bagging 71 seats while its ally Apna Dal got two seats. The SP had got five and the Congress could retain just Amethi and Raebareli seats. The BSP could not open its account.