Congress rules out alliance with SP in Uttar Pradesh

"Apology is always welcome...but there is no question of any alliance in the assembly elections of UP," Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, who is in-charge of party affairs in the state, told reporters.

To a reported suggestion by SP leader Mohan Singh that there should be a softening of relationship between Congress and SP, the AICC leader remarked" where is the hardening?"

In an attempt to mend fences with Muslims after having aligned with Kalyan Singh during Lok Sabha polls in 2009, Mulayam Singh Yadav yesterday regretted taking support of those "responsible" for the Babri mosque demolition and sought pardon of the community.
The SP, which had won only 23 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, had accepted that its core Muslim voters had drifted to others parties.

In the last Lok Sabha elections, Congress had put up a spectacular performance riding on return of sizable Muslim support and won 22 Lok Sabha seats. The party is eyeing to form a government on its own in the state and has declared to go it alone in the 2012 assembly election in the state.