As top leaders of the Congress brainstorm to fine-tune strategy for next year’s UP Assembly elections in Varanasi for two days, a section of the party leaders are calling upon the high command to forge a pre-poll alliance with the Ajit Singh-led RLD, Apna Dal and Ulema Council at the earliest.
A number of Congress leaders from UP want the party high command to stitch around an alliance in a bid to become a viable alternative to the Mayawati-led BSP government in the state. “Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s intervention in the farmers’ stir in Bhatta-Parsaul village has given momentum to the campaign for next year state polls. But it’s important to get the caste arithmetic right if the party is looking forward to become an alternative to the ruling BSP,” a senior Congress leader said. Though the possible RLD-Congress tie-up has been doing the rounds for almost a year, the pact has not yet been concluded. “The Congress is weak in the western UP. A tie-up with Mr Ajit Singh will boost the electoral prospect of the Congress. But it’s my personal view and a decision has to be taken by the party high command,” said a senior office-bearer of the UP Pradesh Congress Committee. Also on the party radar is the Apna Dal, which reportedly commands a good number of Patel voters in a number of UP districts. Apna Dal is being run by his wife and daughter. “The Apna Dal commands support of 10,000 to 50,000 votes in Allahabad, Phulpur, Pratapgarh, Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Sonebhadra, Varanasi, Faizabad among others. An alliance with this party is of importance,” said another Congress leader.