Rahul rules out postpoll alliance in UP

Contrary to the speculations that the Congress could have an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh after the Assembly polls in case of a hung assembly, party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday categorically ruled out a “post-poll tie up with any party”.

Addressing an election meeting at Mehdawal in Sant Kabirnagar district, Rahul expressed confidence that the state would have a “Congress chief minister” after the Assembly polls.

“We will not have alliance with any party after the assembly polls...we will have an alliance only with the people of the state,” the Congress leader, whose party has entered into a pre-poll alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), said.

Rahul said that he was not here to win the elections but to establish a long term relationship with the people – “a life time relationship”. “I shall continue to come to you until you change for the better,” he said adding that the people of the state were now yearning for change and expressed confidence that Congress would form the next government.

The Congress leader reiterated that the state had lagged behind in every field during the past 22 years as successive non-Congress regimes had done precious little for the state.

The Congress has put up candidates on 358 seats leaving 45 seats for its alliance partner RLD, mostly in the western UP.

The local Congress leaders have been talking about a post-poll alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav in the event of a hung assembly.