Cong. contesting polls to form govt., not strike alliance: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said that her party is contesting the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections for forming a government and not for striking a coalition with any party.

“Congress is not contesting these elections to forge a coalition with any party but for forming its government,” Ms. Gandhi said at an election meeting in Chamrauli area this afternoon.

“Congress would establish a relationship of trust with the people and would stand by them in the good and bad times”, he said.

While stating that there was no difference between the BJP, BSP and Samajwadi Party, Ms. Gandhi said all these parties have entered into alliances with each other at different times and ruined the state by distributing chairs (posts) to serve their vested interests.

The Congress president lamented that for the past 20 to 22 years the governments taking over the reins had betrayed the people and instead of developing the state have dragged it behind.

“There had been the rule of either the criminals or corrupt,” she said.

Referring to the various welfare schemes of the UPA government like the loan waiver for farmers and package for weavers, she said that had it not happened things would have been worse.