Road to PMO goes from UP, wave in favour of mahagathbandhan': Danish Ali

The BSP-SP-RLD grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh will play a key role in determining who will head the government after the Lok Sabha election, says BSP leader Danish Ali while asserting that the road to the Prime Minister's Office goes through the state.

There is a wave in favour of the 'mahagathbandhan', which will sweep the polls in Uttar Pradesh, the grand alliance candidate from Amroha said.

Ali, a long-time loyalist of Janata Dal (S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, joined the Bahujan Samaj Party just ahead of the polls with the blessings of the former prime minister and his son, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

In an interview to PTI, he said he switched over to the BSP as he wanted to work in his janambhoomi' (land of birth) and karmabhoomi' (land of work).

I wanted to serve my people and that is why I took this decision. JD(S) does not have that much of presence here and that is why I took the decision with the consent of all my well wishers including the JD(S) leadership, he said.

I took them into confidence that I want to be in Parliament and serve my own people, said Ali.

Asked if the mahagathbandhan' and the Congress fighting separately could divide the anti-BJP vote and put the people in a dilemma, he said there is no dilemma in his constituency as everybody is voting for the mahagathbandhan'.

There is a wave for the mahagathbandhan' in UP, no doubt about that. We are 100 per cent confident of sweeping the polls in UP, Ali said.

He said there is no doubt the mahagathbandhan' will emerge as a strong bloc and play a role nationally post polls.

The road to the South Block goes from UP, Ali said, adding that the 'mahagathbandhan' will be a key player post polls.

South Block in Delhi houses the government's main secretariat and is considered the main seat of power at the Centre.

Asked if he could play an important role in bringing like-minded parties together after the elections, the BSP leader said he will do whatever his new party asks him to.

Ali, whose ancestral village is in Garmukteshwar, one of the assembly segments of Amroha, played a central role in stitching together of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka and in the subsequent power sharing talks.

Will he again play a role in getting the Congress on board after the polls in UP?