Rahul aides in backchannel talks for UP, Bihar alliances

The Congress leadership has stepped up back-channel talks with regional powerhouses in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar with an eye on maximising the Opposition vote against the formidable Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 general election.

Talks are under way with parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh at different levels.

Senior Congress managers are also open to the possibility of a patch-up with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), or JDU, if such a situation presents itself.

The problem is that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) veteran Lalu Prasad and his children are vehemently opposed to any space for Nitish Kumar after the latter quit their “grand alliance” and joined hands with the BJP last year.

Opposition parties are counting on Uttar Pradesh (80 Lok Sabha seats) and Bihar (40 seats) to increase their tally in 2019 as they seek to stop the march of the BJP, which now has 69 seats in the former and 23 in the latter.

A senior Congress strategist said on condition of anonymity an informal group of party leaders has been formed to talk to Akhilesh Yadav’s SP, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and Ajit Singh’s RLD in Uttar Pradesh to pave the way for an alliance or at least a seat-sharing arrangement in the country’s largest state.

Congress’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge, Ghulam Nabi Azad, is also in touch with the leadership of these regional parties.

NEW DELHI: