Trinamool, Prez poll on mind, Cong not to oppose Dimple Yadav

Seeing a buffer in Samajwadi Party, Congress seems to have taken the decision to keep the key outside supporter of UPA in good humour notwithstanding the rivlary witnessed in recent Assembly elections in UP.

"Political equations have changed from 2009 to 2012," was the refrain of party general secretary Digvijay Singh when asked why the party is not contesting the Lok Sabha seat.

"We had not contested the seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha election and we are not contesting it now," Singh said, adding that besides Kannauj, the party had also not put up any candidate at that time in Mainpuri from where SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had contested.

The decision of Congress this time is in sharp contrast to the 2009 by-election for Firozabad Lok Sabha seat for which the party had fielded cine star Raj Babbar against Dimple.

Babbar had won the by-poll after Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi campaigned against Dimple during her maiden entry into the electoral fray.

Asked about repeated tantrums thrown by the allies, Singh merely said "people have given a fractured mandate. We have to run a coalition government by thrashing out issues before we take a decision."

Singh, however, steered clear of a specific question about Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy's remark that the civic poll results in West Bengal have demonstrated that the party has enough strength to rule West Bengal alone.

"I am not the incharge of (Congress affairs) West Bengal," he said. (MORE)