UP elections 2012: Not open to post-poll tie-up with SP, clarifies Digvijaya Singh

LUCKNOW: A day after Mulayam Singh Yadav indicated a post-poll alliance with Congress, before going back on his remark, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Thursday said that his party was not open to the idea.

Singh said that the voter should not be confused by misleading statements from various opposition leaders and Congress was confident of coming out a winner.

"We would rather sit in the opposition if the situation so warrants, than support any other party," said Digvijaya Singh. He said that the situation has gone from bad to worse in the state and the people were now willing to give Congress a chance.

"Congress has not been in power for the last 22 years and should now be a given a chance. Voters have made up their mind and they will support us" he said. The high voter turnout indicated that there was a wave of anti-incumbency and also against SP and BJP, he claimed.

Mulayam Singh had on Wednesday said in Hamirpur that his party would be willing to support Congress if BJP came close to power in UP. He later retracted his statement saying that the media had distorted his statements and the question of supporting Congress in UP did not arise.

Digvijaya also defended Union steel minister Beni Prasad Verma's statement that Muslim quota would be increased and the Election Commission was free to send him a notice for saying so. Addressing a rally in Farukhabad, represented by law minister Salman Khurshid, Verma said Congress was sure to form the government in the state and its government would increase the quota for Muslims once in power.

He went on to say that EC was free to issue him a notice for saying so. Earlier EC and Salman Khurshid were locked in a long-drawn tussle over the same issue of Muslim quota that ended when Khurshid expressed his regret.