UP: BSP says Congress a sinking ship, rules out alliance

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Sunday ruled out an alliance with Congress in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Sunday ruled out an alliance with Congress in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election.

After the BSP supported Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat in the floor test last week, speculation was rife in political circles that the BSP would contest the UP assembly election in alliance with the Congress. (AFP/Photo for representation)

Addressing a party workers’ meeting in Sarojni Nagar, party national general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui said, “The Congress is a sinking ship and no one would like to join a doomed alliance. The BSP will contest the election on its own. We will highlight lawlessness under the SP government and communalism promoted by the NDA government at the centre,” he said.

After the BSP supported Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat in the floor test last week, speculation was rife in political circles that the BSP would contest the UP assembly election in alliance with the Congress.

Siddiqui, a close aide of Mayawati, said the influence of the Congress was limited to Rae Bareli and Amethi. The fight would be with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).