Friends still,with friendly contests,insist SP,Cong

“The alliance is neither unholy,nor is it over,” said Digvijay Singh in an attempt to mollify the SP after having upped the ante by announcing 24 candidates a day ago. Singh also informed that the channel of communication between both the parties was open.

On his part,Mulayam said,“I will personally meet Sonia Gandhi very soon to talk about the issue.”

Right now,the stage is set for “friendly contests” between the two parties.

Seeking to downplay the heat generated by the release of a list of candidates by the Congress,Mulayam said his party was interested in having an alliance with the Congress and “was hopeful of ending the impasse through talks.”

The Congress,on the other hand,said it was forced to announce candidates as the SP,in the midst of seat-sharing talks,repeatedly violated the coalition dharma by releasing five lists of candidates for a total of 64 seats. The central screening committee of the Congress was in the process of short-listing candidates for other seats.

Sources in the SP said that though Mulayam was expecting the Congress to declare its candidates from Rampur,Farrukhabad and Pratapgarh,which are currently held by the SP,he found the Congress’s decision to field candidates from Unnao,Ghosi,Salempur,Barabanki,and Bulandshahr “uncalled for”. Now,the SP is likely to announce its candidates from Aligarh,Ghosi and Gonda — constituencies chosen by the Congress. Mulayam,sources said,was also contemplating fielding his candidate from Gautam Buddha Nagar.

Sources said a section of the SP’s state unit wants to field a candidate from Varanasi. However,Mulayam has not yet decided to announce a candidate from the constituency as that might weaken the Congress’s chance against BJP’s candidate,Murli Manohar Joshi.