Lucknow: Realising need for a joint front
to take on BSP in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party hopes the
support extended by it to the Congress nominee Satish Sharma
in the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha could start a new
phase of relations between them.
"Though the support extended by the SP to the Congress
is limited to the Rajya Sabha elections but this no doubt
would start a new phase of exchange of thoughts between the
two parties," Samajwadi Party spokesman Mohan Singh told agency.
The new found bonhomie between Congress and SP was
evident at the filing of nominations of Satish Sharma in
Lucknow recently when senior SP leaders like Ram Gopal Yadav
and others were present.
Similar was the scene at the time of filing of papers
by Singh where Congress legislature Party leader Pramod Tewari
was present.
Indicating that SP was prepared for a closer ties with
the Congress for the coming assembly elections, Singh said "we
have made a beginning and it is to be seen what response the
Congress gives to it".
To a question whether open support by the SP and
Rashtriya Lok Dal to the Congress in the Rajya Sabha and
Vidhan Parishad polls could mean the three parties would
contest the 2012 assembly elections in alliance, the SP
spokesman said it was too early to say anything.
"It would be decided only later", he said.
To a question whether the Samajwadi Party would step
in if Trinamool Congress of Mamta Bannerji parts way with the
UPA, the SP spokesman said it was a hypothetical question.
"It will be seen only when such a situation
arises...commenting on an imaginary situation is not right",
he added.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav had
recently dissociated himself from media reports that he had
set a condition for the ouster of Mamta Bannerji to support
UPA saying that he was not power hungry and was extending
issue based support to the UPA government.
PTI
