Despite its failure to strike deals with key allies in UP and Bihar, Congress on Tuesday dismissed suggestions of an end to the UPA and indicated that it is open to post-poll alliances with the estranged allies.
"It is certainly not the end of UPA...Certainly not", said Sonia Gandhi, who
is also Chairperson of the UPA, when asked whether the developments in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where trusted allies like Lalu Prasad have parted ways, marked the end of the ruling alliance.
Gandhi defended the party's decision to go alone in UP and Bihar saying, "We decided to fight on our own only after we could not come to an understanding with two parties RJD and Samajwadi Party."
Denying suggestions that UPA is in disarray, the party chief said Congress has stitched up many alliances, including the one with Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
She, however, parried a question on whether Congress is open to seeking Left's support to form government after the elections saying, "Let us see... let us first go to the elections."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who said his party is "hoping to get the majority on its own", observed that "communalism is the biggest challenge" when asked which of the two - BJP or Left - is the main adversary for Congress.