Cong pulls out, but Mulayam safe

The SP-led ruling coalition in Uttar Pradesh still has the backing of 211 MLAs, reports Umesh Raghuvanshi.

The 15-member Congress Legislature Party in Uttar Pradesh withdrew its support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government on Wednesday, a day before the government is slated to seek a vote of confidence in the assembly.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Salman Khurshid said, "The government does not enjoy our support."

The decision will not affect the majority of the Samajwadi Party-led ruling coalition, which still has the backing of 211 MLAs, 152 of them from the SP. It needs the support of a minimum of 202 MLAs.

The chief minister had called the special sitting of the assembly after Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal, with 15 MLAs, withdrew from the government on January 9. Political observers say the Congress's decision is just for the record.

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