As differences with the Congress party continue to vitiate ties, the Samajwadi Party (SP), on Wednesday cautioned the grand-old-party not to harbour any illusions even if results of assembly polls expected on December 3 go in its favour.
“Like 2019, Congress has become so strong that after December 3, it will need neither regional parties nor the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). This is the same Congress which won three states in December 2018 and after four months was reduced to five seats in the Hindi belt. It lost 62 out of 65 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It got one seat each from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Sonia Gandhi was able to win from U.P. with the help of the SP,” said I.P. Singh, a former U.P. Minister and close aide of the party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Mr. Singh has been attacking the Congress, since a tussle began over failed seat sharing negotiations in the Madhya Pradesh assembly poll. He said the SP is preparing to contest 80 Lok Sabha seats in U.P. and other states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra.
“The SP is preparing for elections in 80 Lok Sabha seats. This includes UP and other states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra. Today, in the same connection, the first meeting of the State Executive is to be held in Lucknow,” he added.
The Congress and the SP, partners in the INDIA alliance, have fielded candidates against each other in at least 20 assembly segments in MP, after seat sharing negotiations failed and since then have been engaged in a war of words with U.P. Congress leaders hitting out at the SP chief, while SP second line leaders have been taking potshots at the Congress leadership.
