MP pre-poll alliance: Mayawati, Kamal Nath meet in Delhi

Amid talks of a pre-poll alliance in Madhya Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati and state unit Congress president Kamal Nath have met in Delhi, a Congress leader said today.

"Yes, Mayawati and Kamal Nath met in Delhi yesterday in view of the upcoming assembly elections (in MP)," state chief Congress spokesman Manak Agrawal told PTI.

Senior Congress leaders including Nath had batted for a pre-poll alliance with the BSP and other like-minded parties in Madhya Pradesh that goes to polls later this year.

"Kamal Nath has already made a public statement that his party is ready to align with the like-minded parties, especially the BSP, ahead of polls to unseat the ruling BJP," Agrawal said.

When asked about the specifics of the meeting, the Congress leader said that a seat-sharing formula might not have come up for discussion between the two leaders given that there is still time for polls.

The BSP currently has four seats in the assembly, from the Chambal and Rewa division.

Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh are likely to be held in November or December 2018.

In the 2013 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, the Congress and the BSP polled 36.38 per cent and 6.29 per cent of the votes respectively against the BJP's 44.88 per cent.

The BJP won 165 seats, the Congress 58, the BSP four while Independents won three seats in the 230-member Assembly.

In the 2008 Assembly polls, the Congress and the BSP secured 32.85 and 8.97 per cent votes respectively, which was collectively four per cent more than the 37.64 per cent vote share of the BJP.

Dalits constitute 15 per cent population in Madhya Pradesh while tribals have a vote share of 18 per cent.