After Siddiqui, Cong open to roping in other dissident leaders from rivals

The Congress, which tied up with Samajwadi Party ahead of the last Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh in an unsuccessful bid to capture power in Uttar Pradesh, is now looking at roping in influential dissidents from other parties to bolster its prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a party leader said.
The recent joining of former BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui was one such instance and in the coming days the party is likely to open its doors to more such leaders, the party leader said.
"A grand alliance which was being regarded a necessity to stop the saffron surge appears to be far fetched in the present scenario. Congress has realised it might have to go alone in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and is working in that direction," the Congress leader, who wished not to be named, said.

If there was a chance of a grand opposition alliance, it would have been visible on the ground for the Lok Sabha bye-elections in Gorakhpur and Phoolpur - touted as the semi-final before the next general elections, he remarked.
However, BSP chief Mayawati has extended support to Atiq Ahmed, who has filed his nomination as an independent, in Phoolpur, he pointed out.
He said leaders who parted ways from other parties for different reasons and are now coming to the Congress.

However, the party will have to figure out whether the new joinees upset the existing equations in the organisation.

Following Siddiqui's entry, the Congress had expelled one of its leaders, Sanjay Dixit, who had raised questions about the entry of the former Mayawati-aide in the Congress.
Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi, when contacted, told PTI that all the parties are working to strengthen themselves and the Congress was no exception.
"All parties do politics to bolster their chances and the Congress is also working hard in that direction," Tripathi said, adding that the Lok Sabha elections are important for it.