The Hindu : National : SP-Congress pact for LS polls likely

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National

SP-Congress pact for LS polls likely

Atiq Khan

LUCKNOW: Mohammad Adeeb Khan’s nomination as an Independent candidate supported by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh has strengthened the possibility of the two parties reaching an agreement on seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls.

Though Mr. Khan is technically an Independent he is being touted as a joint SP-Congress candidate.

He filed his nomination papers before Returning Officer Pradeep Dubey on Monday, his name being jointly proposed by the SP, Congress and some Independent MLAs.

Kusum Rai of the Bharatiya Janata Party also filed her papers on the last day of nominations for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats on Monday. Since only 10 sets of papers were received by the Returning Officer till the week-long proceedings closed at 3 p.m. on Monday all the 10 candidates are likely to be elected unopposed, with the Bahujan Samaj Party taking six, SP two, BJP one and Congress-SP supported Independent one.

A former student union president of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Mr. Khan’s surprise selection was jointly decided by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her Samajwadi counterpart, Mulayam Singh, only after a consensus on a common party candidate remained elusive. The two leaders met in New Delhi on Saturday and the joint candidate’s name was revealed on Sunday after Mr. Khan reached the State capital on Monday night.

Both the parties wanted to field a Muslim for the tenth seat in a bid to reinforce their secular credentials, particularly when the ruling BSP preferred the Dalits and upper castes as its candidates. While the name of the former U.P. Congress chief, Salman Khursheed, was reportedly rejected by the SP leadership that of Abu Aasim Azmi was disapproved by the Congress. Consensus was eventually evolved on Mr. Khan, who considers himself to be a friend of both the Congress and the SP.

For giving the nomination proceedings the semblance of a joint endeavour, the Congress and SP were represented by the AICC general secretary and in charge of U.P. affairs, Digvijay Singh; State Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi; Legislature Party leader Pramod Tewari; Mr. Khursheed; Mr. Mulayam Singh’s son and MP, Akhilesh Yadav; Leader of the Opposition in the Vidhan Parishad, Ahmed Hasan; Ambika Chaudhary; and the former Minister, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya.

Mr. Digvijay Singh told reporters that Mr. Khan’s name was finalised by top leaders of the Congress and SP. The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said the Congress considered the SP a secular party. A strong secular initiative was needed in Uttar Pradesh.

Top BJP leaders were present at the nomination of Ms. Rai. Her mentor and former U.P. Chief Minister, Kalyan Singh, was absent. The choice of Ms. Rai stunned the BJP circles, who expected ticket for a senior leader.

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