Ties between the Congress and Samajwadi Party have reached a breaking point over the Kalyan Singh issue with the ruling party at the Centre conveying to the SP leadership its inability to go ahead with seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha polls if the SP has any electoral understanding with the former BJP leader. It was following this missive from the Congress high command that SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav sought to clear the air,saying that the SP had no alliance with Kalyan Singh and he was only a friend. But the clarification has failed to mollify the Congress which,for the record,has maintained that Kalyan Singh is an internal affair of the SP. "There is no question of having any seat-sharing talks with the SP as long as it is in Kalyan Singh's company. Our alliance with the SP will depend on how the SP responds to our sentiments. For the Congress,Kalyan Singh was responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Congress president Sonia Gandhi will not share a platform with Mulayam Singh during campaigning if Kalyan Singh is with him," a senior Congress leader told The Indian Express on Wednesday. SP sources,however,sought to play down the aggressive Congress posturing over Kalyan Singh,calling it pressure tactics to secure more seats during the talks. "But given a choice between Kalyan Singh and Congress,we will prefer Kalyan Singh," a top SP leader told The Indian Express. Congress sources said if Kalyan Singh were to contest,the SP might not field a candidate against him,but the Congress would be compelled to field a candidate against the former UP Chief Minister who is likely to contest as an Independent candidate from Etah. The same applies in the case of Kalyan Singh's son Rajvir Singh,said sources. The Congress,in the mean time,is going to declare its candidates on some Lok Sabha seats from UP,including a few contentious ones that are being claimed by the SP. The central election committee of the AICC will meet shortly to finalise and clear the list of candidates. A way out of the Kalyan Singh imbroglio could be friendly contests between the Congress and the SP on certain seats,but this formula is said to be unacceptable to the latter. Congress sources said there is 50-50 chances of its alliance with the SP.
