SP-BSP alliance not the last word: P Chidambaram

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India] , Jan 12 (ANI): The alliance between SP and BSP in Uttar Pradesh for the coming Lok Sabha elections is not the last word, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Saturday.
Chidambaram hoped that his party could still be a part of the new political alignment in India's politically most crucial state where 80 Lok Sabha seats are at stake. In the last General Elections in 2014, the Congress had won only two seats-Amethi and Rae Bareli.
"Perhaps this is not the last word. May be there will be some rethink as the elections approach. A truly broad-based alliance will be formed in Uttar Pradesh. If necessary, the Congress party will contest elections on its own strength," Chidambaram told reporters here.
As per the alliance, the SP and the BSP will contest on 38 seats each, while they will not field their candidate against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli. They have also kept two seats for the smaller parties.
During the press conference to announce the alliance in Lucknow on Saturday, Mayawati said that neither the SP nor the BSP would benefit by allying with the Congress. She also said that there was not much difference between the Congress and the BJP.
"Many a time, we have seen similarities between the Congress and the BJP. For example, in the defence sector, we are seeing how both indulged in corruption (Bofors and Rafale). Congress imposed declared emergency. Today there is an undeclared emergency," she said.
"Most sections of the society including scheduled castes, farmers, and the poor were unhappy with the Congress' rule. Whether the mandate goes to the Congress or the BJP, it is one and the same thing," she said.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh said the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh has totally alienated founder of Samajwadi Party Mulayam Singh Yadav from the development.
Speaking to ANI in New Delhi, Singh said, "Founder of Samajwadi Party will always be Mulayam Singh Ji. Now he is totally cut off with this development. On the banners, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, and Akhilesh won't be there together. It will be only Akhilesh and Mayawati-Bua and Babua." (ANI)