Congress hints at SP alliance as Akhilesh-Mulayam feud continues

Akhilesh-Mulayam battle continues, despite efforts by others for a compromise

The Congress made some pro-alliance noises in Uttar Pradesh, even as a patch-up attempt between Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh proved futile.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, in charge of Congress affairs in Lucknow, hinted to party seniors there at a possible alliance with the SP. He said the Congress was preparing to fight in all 403 legislative assembly seats for the coming election but there was also a need for secular forces to come together to defeat the "communal" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress chief ministerial nominee Sheila Dikshit told his newspaper: "I am prepared to withdraw my (CM) candidature if an alliance happens with the SP." At the Congress briefing of journalists here, spokesperson Ajoy Kumar also said the party might go with like-minded players in UP to stop the BJP.

These developments took place on a day the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced a seven-phase poll in the state, from February 4 to March 8. The results will be out on March 11.

Many Congress seniors and others in UP favour an alliance with the SP. Dikshit said the decision would be by party chief Sonia Gandhi and the vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, when the two returner from their vacation abroad.

On Monday, addressing a rally in Lucknow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lashed at the SP, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party, saying they had each failed to develop the state. And, urged voters to give his BJP a complete majority in UP.

Dikshit said a Bihar-like alliance, where the Congress-JD-RJD combine defeated the BJP in 2015, could be worked out in UP as well. "Akhilesh has been saying SP and Congress together can win 300 seats," she said.

Congress sources said Rahul Gandhi is open to a pact with the Akhilesh faction but averse to one with Mulayam. The prospective alliance, Dikshit said, would depend upon the benefits for the Congress, in terms of number of seats to contest.

In Lucknow, the two SP groupings refused to budge from their respective positions despite veteran Azam Khan holding extensive parleys with both. "There is no agreement," said Ram Gopal Yadav of the Akhilesh group, referring to a two-hour meeting between Akhilesh and his father on Tuesday.

At the ECI, both have claimed rights over the SP poll symbol, the bicycle. "The Commission while keeping in mind precedents and set principles followed till now, will examine the documents before us and will take an appropriate decision at the right time," chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi said after announcing the poll schedule.

"A patch up is too late. Netaji(Mulayam) himself went to the EC," said a source close to Akhilesh indicating the chief minister's camp was in no mood for a compromise, which entails sacking controversial party leader Amar Singh and shifting Mulayam's brother Shivpal Yadav to Delhi.

BSP chief Mayawati welcomed the seven-phased elections in UP and said that the state's police machinery could be used for political purposes by the Akhilesh Yadav government.

She urged the EC to keep an eye on rivals BJP, SP and Congress and ensure strict compliance of the model poll code. "These parties are in the habit of flouting the poll code as has been experienced in 2014 Lok Sabha polls," she said.