Congress to go it alone in Uttar Pradesh urban body polls

LUCKNOW: The Congress has decided to go it alone in the upcoming election to urban bodies in Uttar Pradesh, a move that indicates an end to the alliance with Samajwadi party forged before the Assembly polls.

"A meeting of senior party leaders was held in New Delhi last week to discuss in detail whether the party should go it alone or contest the upcoming urban body elections in an alliance. There was consensus that the party should contest on its own," Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi said here today.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of UP Ghulam Nabi Azad, state unit chief Raj Babbar and candidates who contested the recent Assembly polls participated in the meeting, Tripathi told PTI.


The Congress leader said the party high command will now issue detailed directives with regard to the urban body elections scheduled in June and July.

Babbar confirmed that on the basis of suggestions of the party leaders and workers, the Congress has decided to contest the local body elections on its own.

For the Assembly polls earlier this year, the Congress and Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi party had entered into an alliance but they suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the BJP at the hustings.

After the poor show, speculation was rife that the alliance partners might part ways in the urban body polls.

However SP chief Yadav and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had maintained that the alliance would continue.

Congress sources said that there was a lot of pressure on the party leadership to end the alliance ahead of the Uttar Pradesh urban local body elections.

Earlier, the party had convened a meeting of district and city unit presidents of western UP region in New Delhi and of office-bearers from the rest of the state in Lucknow.

The district and city unit leaders also had opposed continuance of the alliance.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agarwal said in Hardoi that "if Raj Babbar wants to contest alone, his party will see for itself as to how many seats it gets."