Will ally only with small parties for U.P. polls: Cong's State chief

Congress’ Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Kumar Lallu virtually ruled out any alliance with the SP and the BSP for the upcoming polls in the state.

Virtually ruling out an alliance with the Samajwad Party and Bahujan Samaj Party for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Congress' State unit chief Ajay Kumar Lallu on Sunday said his party will forge alliances only with small parties and will "not even think about" joining hands with the big ones for the elections. He also said the governments of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) that have ruled Uttar Pradesh in the last 32 years, when Congress was not in power, failed to live up to the expectations of the people and the Congress was set for a comeback in the state. In an interview with PTI, Mr. Lallu said that in the eyes of the people of Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is the main challenger to the BJP in the polls next year and expressed confidence that the party would win the elections under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and form the next government.