SP-BSP alliance won’t be successful, claims Shivpal
Lucknow, Jan. 13: Left out of the SP-BSP pre-poll tie-up in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress on Sunday announced it would go alone on all 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the upcoming general election. The priest-turnedpolitician also went on to say, “Why are SP and BSP different parties? They should be merged”.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, an ally of the ruling BJP, appeared to differ with Adityanath’s assessment. It said the SPBSP alliance will put up a strong fight in Lok Sabha elections.
“The country is witnessing an era of coalition, and no party has the courage to go to the polls alone. The SP-BSP alliance is a strong alliance and it will put up a strong contest in the elections,” UP Cabinet minister and SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar told reporters Saturday.
Replying to another query on whether his party will go with the SPBSP alliance, Rajbhar said there was “no truth” in such rumours.
Taking a jibe at BJP, he said, “The BJP feels there is a saffron wave across the state. The BJP is having the galatfahmi (wrong perception) that more than 60 per cent of people are supporting it.”
He said the party did see the result of this wrong perception during the Lok Sabha bypolls when it lost the Gorakhpur, Phoolpur and Kairana, and Noorpur assembly seat.
In another development, Shivpal Yadav, chief of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) told reporters, “When Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) had forged an alliance (with BSP), there was no fear of CBI. Today there is a fear of CBI, and it is because of CBI that the alliance is taking place. This alliance will not prove to be successful.”
Shivpal also said his talks for Lok Sabha elections are going on with various parties including the Congress.
Sunday’s meeting of the Congress was held a day after SP and BSP announced their alliance in UP, sharing 38 seats each and leaving two seats for smaller parties. They also left Rae Bareli and Amethi seats for UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
Speaking to reporters, Azad said, “The Congress will contest on all 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP and defeat BJP.” He expressed hope that the Grand Old Party would double the tally of 21 seats it had won in the state in the 2009 general election.