Want to go it alone in UP: Cong tells high command

Already,state leaders were unhappy over the way the SP had announced its candidates even for those seats which the Congress was keen on contesting. The tie-up between SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kalyan Singh has further complicated matters.

“We are trying to re-evaluate the situation following Kalyan Singh joining hands with the SP and the party unilaterally announcing candidates,” said Rita Bahuguna Joshi,UPCC president.

“Initially,we were for the alliance,but now a majority of the workers want the party to go it alone. I have conveyed this to the party high command,” he added.

Joshi said the Congress will not compromise on anything less than 25 seats in the state. The SP has already announced candidates for 53 of the 80 seats. Another meeting has been scheduled for December 31 in Delhi when state leaders will be present at the AICC headquarters.

The same day,Mulayam Singh Yadav is expected to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Banda MLA resigns from party posts
Congress MLA Vivek Singh resigned from party posts on Thursday in protest against doubts being raised over his role in the recent legislative council elections where party candidate Dilip Singh Judev received only 17 votes of the 21 Congress MLAs.

In a letter to UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi,Singh has admitted his relations with Chief Minister Mayawati,whom he has described as his ‘sister”. He has also called PWD Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui his brother. Singh,however,denied he wanted to join the BSP. “I meet them in daylight,unlike others who meet them at night for their own interests,” said Singh,a MLA from Banda. He is also UPCC general secretary and chairman of the media cell of the party. In his letter,Singh has demanded a probe into the role of Congress MLAs in the council elections. He will not attend any party meeting until the inquiry is completed. “I won’t compromise on this issue. I will expose those who are damaging the Congress in the state,” he added.

Joshi described Singh’s letter as an “emotional outburst”. She said she will bring the issue to the knowledge of AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh who is in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. Joshi said though Singh has not named anyone,but he is known to be unhappy with CLP leader Pramod Tewari.