After Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati, it is the Samajwadi Party (SP) that has now distanced itself from the Congress.
The SP ruled out an alliance with the Congress for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections on Saturday. Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav said that they can't wait for the Congress to take a decision. "Congress has made us wait for too long. How much longer must we wait?
The BSP and SP have traditionally been arch rivals but the two parties came together to contest the bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, which led to the defeat of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Yadav hinted that a BSP-SP alliance that did wonders in the bypolls may be on the cards.
"We will now consult the Gondwana Gantantra Party with which we had an alliance, and also the BSP, for the coming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh," Yadav said.
With the BSP and SP likely refraining from an alliance with the Congress in the state elections, Congress's plan of forming an anti-BJP front for the 2019 Lok Sabha election might face hurdles.
Downplaying Yadav's comments the Congress said that they had no plans to strike an alliance with the SP in Madhya Pradesh in any case. However, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said there was a possibility of an alliance with the BSP in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. On Wednesday, Mayawati ruled out an alliance with Congress, saying that even though Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were keen some selfish senior leaders in their party came in the way.
Reacting to Mayawati's statement, Yadav had then urged the Congress to show large-heartedness by taking along other parties. "If there is any delay, there is a possibility that other parties may declare their candidates. After this, there will be a levelling of allegations that they colluded with the BJP," he had said.
