No possibility or intention of joining any ‘grand alliance’ in UP: Congress

The Congress on Friday ruled out the possibility of it being part of a “grand alliance” for Uttar Pradesh assembly election, saying there was “no movement” forward and it had “no plans” of joining it.

The Congress on Friday ruled out the possibility of it being part of a “grand alliance” for Uttar Pradesh assembly election, saying there was “no movement” forward and it had “no plans” of joining it.

RLD chief Ajit Singh with Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav during thier meeting in New Delhi on October 28, 2016. Even as the SP continued its efforts to form a “grand alliance” for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the Congress on Friday said it had no plans of joining such an alliance. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

“As of today, there is no grand alliance, neither is there any proposal, nor any such possibility or intention,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

Faced with a volley of questions on the issue at the party briefing, he said he could not respond to “speculation or hypothetical questions”.

He was asked about the possibility of such an alliance in the wake of Janata Dal(United) leader Sharad Yadav’s meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi three days ago and with party general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday.

Yadav had also met the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Uttar Pradesh unit chief, Shivpal Yadav, on Thursday.

Shivpal had hinted at a tie-up with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Congress to stop the “communal forces” in the Assembly polls due early next year.

Since the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was reluctant to go for an alliance, the possible options put forward by most of the MLAs were the RLD and the SP.

A section of Congress leaders has been saying that there is a possibility of an alliance with the “minor players” such as the RLD and the JD(U) in Uttar Pradesh.