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Target Mayawati: Efforts on to cobble alternative in UP
New Delhi, May 29: Fuelled by almost certain withdrawal of support by the RLD to the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, efforts to forge a viable alternative in the crucial state today gathered momentum with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav holding a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
New Delhi, May 29: Fuelled by almost certain withdrawal of support by the RLD to the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, efforts to forge a viable alternative in the crucial state today gathered momentum with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav holding a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Earlier yesterday, RLD president Ajit Singh had himself met Gandhi and offered to join forces with opposition to cobble a "credible" secular alternative to the BSP-BJP combine in UP.
With former chief minister Kalyan Singh already having joined the efforts for such an alternative, opposition sources claimed it would be only a matter of time before BJP MLAs, disgruntled over the ruling coalition in the state, would switch sides, tilting the balance in their favour.
The fast-paced political drama unfolded when Yadav held a 30-minute meeting with Gandhi here this morning and later told reporters that the situation in UP was "deteriorating day-by-day and people were living in fear and if Ajit Singh could do some thing in this scenario, it was a welcome step."
Soon after meeting Gandhi, Yadav, accompanied by party general secretary Amar Singh, held a 90-minute meeting with Ajit Singh and senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and Nawal Kishore Sharma discussing strategies to cobble a secular alternative.
Asked about the Samajwadi Party leaders meeting with Gandhi and later with RLD chief Ajit Singh along with Patel and Sharma, Amar Singh told reporters that "we met to check the division among secular forces and decided to work unitedly to confront communal forces".
He said SP was not interested in toppling the Mayawati government but trying to unite all like-minded forces otherwise "divide and rule" policy of the BJP government would continue.
Singh said Mulayam's meeting with Gandhi did not come suddenly as he met her on Tuesday and discussed at length the need to have a secular alternative in case RLD decided to withdraw its 14-MLAs from the Mayawati government tomorrow.
"We leave it to Ajit Singh to take a decision in this regard. We are not in a position to divulge our strategy before a decision by RLD on the continuation of support to Mayawati. We will take a decision only after such a decision was taken" he said.
Confirming the meeting with Samajwadi Party and Congress leader, the RLD chief indicated to reporters separately that the party would be withdrawing its support to Mayawati government but said that they had not discussed government formation.
"We did not discuss a government formation but a credible alternative to BSP-BJP coalition. This included all the like minded political parties--Congress, SP, RLD, Rashtriya Kranti Party headed by Kalyan Singh and others", he said. Bureau Report
Asked about the Samajwadi Party leaders meeting with Gandhi and later with RLD chief Ajit Singh along with Patel and Sharma, Amar Singh told reporters that "we met to check the division among secular forces and decided to work unitedly to confront communal forces".
He said SP was not interested in toppling the Mayawati government but trying to unite all like-minded forces otherwise "divide and rule" policy of the BJP government would continue.
Singh said Mulayam's meeting with Gandhi did not come suddenly as he met her on Tuesday and discussed at length the need to have a secular alternative in case RLD decided to withdraw its 14-MLAs from the Mayawati government tomorrow.
"We leave it to Ajit Singh to take a decision in this regard. We are not in a position to divulge our strategy before a decision by RLD on the continuation of support to Mayawati. We will take a decision only after such a decision was taken" he said.
Confirming the meeting with Samajwadi Party and Congress leader, the RLD chief indicated to reporters separately that the party would be withdrawing its support to Mayawati government but said that they had not discussed government formation.
"We did not discuss a government formation but a credible alternative to BSP-BJP coalition. This included all the like minded political parties--Congress, SP, RLD, Rashtriya Kranti Party headed by Kalyan Singh and others", he said. Bureau Report