Days after the Samajwadi Party and Congress announced that they will contest UP Assembly polls together, the alliance talks between the two parties continue to remain in a deadlock with both two sides squabbling over the share of seats.
According to a Times of India report, to break the logjam, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has now intervened into the matter. She has dispatched her personal emissary to Lucknow for holding talks with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Priyanka’s bid to salvage the situation came immediately after the ruling party released the names of party candidates for nine seats where Congress won in the 2012 assembly polls and even said that it will contest more than 300 seats.
Congress leaders confirmed Priyanka's intervention but did not provide details on the emissary, the report said.
Citing sources, the report said that the emissary, Dheeraj, has already reached Lucknow and now waiting for a call from Akhilesh.
It is also said that Priyanka’s at least 11 text messages to Akhilesh have gone unanswered.
The development comes after top Congress leaders held emergency meetings in Delhi to discuss whether and how to salvage the partnership with Akhilesh.
Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said that the senior leader Guhlam Nabi Azad will talk to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav now, probable on Saturday.
"I will be able to talk about the SP alliance once Ghulam Nabi meets Akhilesh Yadav. We have said that this alliance was concluded earlier with Akhilesh Yadav. Now we will call him again. It's unfortunate that seats of nine sitting MLA s are being taken away... any agreement should be honoured," he said.
The report also mentioned that the SP had initially agreed to leave 100 seats for the Congress but the they were now having a rethink that the number was too high.
The TOI report even said that Akhilesh wanted Rahul to come to Lucknow to announce the alliance and launch the joint campaign, but this did not draw a positive response from the Congress.
Another provocation was reported to be the Congress’ decision to suddenly hike its demand from 103 seats on Thursday to 138 on Friday.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Raj Babbar said that there will be ‘no alliance at the cost of honour and respect of party workers’.
Elections to the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly will be held in seven phases from February 15 to March 8. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 11.
