Congress, SP seal pre-poll alliance in UP

Latter to contest 298 seats, Cong the other 105; governance programme details promised

Ending days of suspense, the Congress and Samajwadi Party agreed to fight the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly polls jointly, saying they’d done so to keep communal forces (read the Bharatiya Janata Party) at bay.

The SP, which has run the state government since its 2012 win, will contest 298 of the 403 seats in the assembly. The Congress will do so in the other 105. Akhilesh Yadav, lately having emerged from the shadow of his father and SP founder- patriarch Mulayam Singh, would be the chief ministerial face of the alliance.

The alliance had come under intense pressure in the past few days, with hard bargaining and tough public posturing. So much so that at one stage, SP leader Naresh Agrawal had said the possibility of an alliance was "almost over" and blamed the "stubborn" attitude of the Congress for the deadlock.

Sources said the alliance materialised after Congress president Sonia Gandhi intervened. They said top leaders of both parties finalised the arrangement in the early hours of Sunday. Congress senior Ahmed Patel had earlier indicated the discussion was between Akhilesh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, the high command’s person in charge of the state, and Priyanka Vadra, the daughter of Sonia Gandhi.

UP Congress chief Raj Babbar formally announced the pact in Lucknow with SP counterpart Naresh Uttam. Babbar said a ‘common minimum programme’ would be finalised in a week.

The Congress had wanted Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal to also join but the latter refused to accept only the 20 seats offered. The SP was not keen; they felt its presence could, in the aftermath of the riots in Muzaffarnagar, dented its Muslim votes in western UP.

The Congress has been out of power in UP since late 1989; its organisation has depleted, as a result. In the 2012 assembly poll, it could win only 28 seats. Party insiders now hope for much gain in the state. Further, the coming together could provide a template for the 2019 national election, of working together to keep the BJP from returning to power at the Centre.

Sheila Dikshit, the Congress’ choice for CM, had already said she’d withdraw if an alliance was settled with the SP.

UP will have a seven-phased poll, from February 11 to March 8. The results will be out on March 11.

The SP had supported the Congress-led UPA coalition government at the Centre from 2004 to 2014.