Kiranmoy Nanda on SP-BSP alliance
Samajwadi Party (SP), together with the BSP is strong enough to defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming general elections, said SP national vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda on Sunday, adding there is no need of an "insignificant" force like the Congress to make it happen.
Nanda however, hinted that their alliance with the BSP might just leave aside the Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies, which are represented in the Lok Sabha by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi respectively.
"In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is an insignificant force, so we are not even thinking of including or excluding it,” Nanda said.
"The SP-BSP alliance is the main force which will take on the BJP. The Congress might be there in one or two seats, it is for the Congress to decide what position it wishes to see itself in," he said.
His comments came two days after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav moved closer to finalise a seat-sharing formula, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Both the leaders had held a meeting in New Delhi on Friday.
Nanda felt the Congress was yet to adjust to the mantra of "alliance politics" as it was unwilling to "leave even an inch to its allies in states where it is strong but expects others to share their pound of flesh with it in states where it is a weak force".
"From our past experiences, we can say, in cases where the Congress had fielded candidates against the SP-BSP alliance, we did not face any problem in defeating the BJP. The Congress's vote share is completely insignificant,” he said on being asked whether keeping the Congress out of the alliance in Uttar Pradesh would be an advantage for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Referring to the recently-held Assembly polls in five states, he said had the Congress worked out an alliance in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the BJP would have faced a complete ouster in the two states.
"Going by the current situation, it is clear that the SP-BSP alliance will sweep Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP will be ousted. The SP will play a vital role in the next government formation at the Centre, but we are not in the prime ministerial race," he maintained.
Nanda also refuted the claims that Shivpal Singh Yadav's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) might play a spoilsport for the SP-BSP alliance in the Hindi heartland state.
Talking about the choice of prime ministerial candidate of the opposition alliance, Nanda said the matter would be decided on the basis of consensus after the polls.
Meanwhile, sources from the Congress party said they are ready to go it alone in the state.
The Rahul Gandhi-led party said they are preparing to contest alone.
"A coalition is not important, our workers are ready, we have not spoken to anyone about an alliance," they said.
