Mayawati attacks Congress

The possibility of an alliance between the Congress and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) received a major set-back following the BSP chief's decision to launch a tirade against the Congress and Sonia Gandhi at her Patna rally.

The Congress was eager to forge the alliance with the BSP in view of the changing political equations. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who met Mayawati twice, tried to convince her to forge an alliance in order to consolidate a solid support base of dalit and Muslims. The Congress assumes that Muslims will turn away from Mulayam Singh Yadav if they get an alternative.

But Mayawati's outburst today has jolted all hopes of the Congress forging an alliance with the BSP to challenge the BJP and the Samajwadi Party. In Patna, Mayawati accused the Congress of being hand in gloves with feudal forces and neglecting the dalits.

''Both the Congress and the BJP symbolise perpetuation of the manuvaadi system. There is no sense in having an electoral alliance with them," Mayawati told a public meeting days after she was wooed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi who called on her on her birthday, triggering speculation about the BSP joining forces with the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls.

Mayawati said her party would enter into electoral alliances with only those parties which had the strength to get their votes transferred to the BSP. ''As long as we are not sure of the capacity of a party to get its votes transferred to us, we will not join hands,'' she said.

Mayawati said if a fruitful electoral arrangement was not evolved, the BSP will go alone in the coming polls. Though Mayawati's criticism of the Congress and Sonia Gandhi has caused consternation within the party, senior party leaders feel that there is still scope for one more attempt to convince Mayawati about the benefits she will accrue from an alliance.

A senior leader acting as intermediary between the two camps say Mayawati must realise that the BSP would get the support of Muslims only if she forges an alliance with the Congress.

"We will make another effort to convince her about the futility of going it alone in the polls" congress leaders said, adding that she was under pressure over the CBI's cases against her on the Taj Corridor controversy.