Congress, Samajwadi Party to jointly contest Lok Sabha elections in UP
1 Sep 2008, 1851 Hrs

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New Delhi, Sept 01 (ANI): The Samajwadi Party and Congress today decided to jointly contest the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.

The SP is also seeking alliance in four other states including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka

After a marathon four-hour long talk with a Congress delegation led by party general secretary Rahul Gandhi, SP general secretary Amar Singh said that the seat-sharing would be carried out with winnability as the criteria in the state.

Sending out a signal of warmth and goodwill towards the Congress leadership, Singh told reporters that if in any eventuality, the alliance does not work out, "we will not oppose Sonia Gandhi and Rahul in their constituencies".

The SP leader said that talks in which AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi also participated, were held in cordial atmosphere and the overriding sentiment was one of unity to face the challenges ahead.

"Just like Congress is asking for more seats in UP, despite being weak there, similarly we also asked them to help us in states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, where we have a marginal presence," Singh said.

Singh said that SP would welcome joint campaigns in other states by both the parties, as they have forged a strong long term alliance.

Terming the attitude of both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as "positive" towards SP, he once again thanked the Congress leadership for inviting the party to join the Union Cabinet.

Singh, however, refused to divulge details about the number of seats Congress sought from SP in UP.

The next meeting between the two parties on seat sharing is expected to take place on September 8, sources said. (ANI)