Samajwadi Party hedges on Third Front

Declaring that SP would go it alone in the Lok Sabha elections on its own in Uttar Pradesh and several other states, he spoke in contradicting tones about the possibility of mid-term polls. But he made it clear his party would not not rock the UPA government at the Centre.

"Third Front is always formed after elections after gauging the situation and not not before polls. A decision on forming the Third Front will be taken after seeing the results of the 2014 polls," SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav told a press conference after the party's two-day national executive meet here.

Repeatedly asked as to whom the party would prefer as alliance partners--Trinamool Congress or the Left parties, he replied "We have not spoken to any party nor will we speak to any party before the elections."

The SP had tied up with the Left parties in earlier elections and been with them in the United Front coalition in the mid nineties.

It had teamed up with the the Trinamool Congress headed by Mamata Banerjee before the Presidential elections only to ditch the party by announcing first its support for Pranab Mukherjee.

Asked about SP General Secretary Mohan Singh's statement yesterday that the seeds of Third Front have already been sown and talks would be held with regional parties, the SP supremo downplayed it.

"What he had meant was that we will keep good relations with other parties," he said. (More) PTI