Cong sends feelers to SP, BSP for joint opposition candidate

LUCKNOW : The Congress has decided to send feelers to the Samajwadi Party and the BSP on fielding a joint opposition candidate to fight the BJP in the by-election to Kairana Lok Sabha and Noorpur assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh.

As the nomination process for the two seats begins on Thursday, senior Congress leaders met the party workers of west UP in New Delhi on Wednesday to get feedback from them on the issue.

“The Congress has considerable presence in the region. We got feedback from our leaders from the region and they want the party to contest the poll. We also want to be with the cause of opposition unity and field a joint candidate to defeat the BJP. We will get in touch with the SP and BSP and finalise our strategy this week,” said a senior party leader.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (incharge UP) Ghulam Nabi Azad had called leaders of west UP and the senior party functionaries from all the five assembly segments of Kairana for a discussion on the issue. Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Raj Babbar, Congress Legislature Party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu and senior party leaders Imran Masood, Pankaj Malik and others were among those who attended the meeting.

“Most of our leaders have favoured the party should either contest the poll or support a joint opposition nominee to defeat the BJP,” said Babbar, who went to brief Congress president Rahul Gandhi about the partymen’s view soon after the meeting.

Masood said 12 to 15 party leaders from each of the five assembly segments of Kairana, along with district party presidents of Saharanpur and Shamli, attended the meeting.

“The Samajwadi Party has not got in touch with us on the issue. We are in favour of fielding a joint candidate and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary may be the choice. The party leadership will take a call on the issue soon,” said Masood.

Rashtriya Lok Dal national general secretary Anil Dubey said the SP being the largest party should play an active role in ensuring a joint opposition candidate to fight the BJP.