BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Kamal Nath claimed on Thursday that during the discussions on alliance with the Congress in the state, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had staked claim on a large number of seats, where it virtually had no base.
The former union minister and the nine-time Lok Sabha member from Chhindwara seat, Nath also maintained that a non-alliance with the BSP will not hamper Congress's poll prospects, as his party was still in talks with other like-minded opposition parties, including Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party. "Our position on the ground is very strong and a non-alliance with BSP isn't going to mar our prospects at all."
"I had spoken to Akhilesh Yadav for alliance a few days back and the talks for Congress-SP alliance are still underway," said Nath.
Importantly, the SP national president Akhilesh Yadav had recently shared the stage with top leadership of Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) in Shahdol district of Mahakoshal region, where he had hinted about the SP and GGP fighting the coming assembly polls in alliance. Without naming the Congress, Yadav had said that he was still hopeful that a similar alliance with other like-minded opposition parties in the state was still possible.
Talking to journalists in Bhopal on Thursday, Nath told journalists that the BSP wanted to contest 50 seats in the state. "But most of the seats which they (BSP) wanted the Congress to leave for them, the BSP didn't have any real base, as in the previous polls that party had secured only around 1,0000 to 6,000 votes," said Nath.