Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party likely to seal alliance with Congress today; no word on Ajit Singh’s RLD

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday is expected to seal an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, reports said.
The SP-Congress are coming together to prevent Bharatiya Janata Party’s march to power in the key cow belt state.
Earlier there were reports that Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal will be part of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’. However, reports are doing rounds that Singh is unhappy with the seat sharing formula, and is most likely to go solo in the high-voltage polls.
Expressing confidence in stitching an alliance with the ruling party, AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad had said, “I am confident that the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance will form the next government in Uttar Pradesh.”
Congress announcement came close on the heels of reports from Lucknow where SP chief and Akhilesh Yadav said a decision on tying up with the Congress will be taken in a “day or two”
Before the poll panel settled the dispute between the warring factions in the Samajwadi Party in Akhilesh’s favour, Mulayam Singh had rejected all suggestions of a tie-up with Congress despite his Chief Minister son having said if the two came together the alliance could win over 300 of the state’s 403 seats.
Raecting to the SP-Congress possible tie-up, senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu dubbed the talks of Congress and SP coming together to take on the saffron party in UP polls as a “natural alliance” of the “rejected and dejected” people.
BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said: “The Congress has called Akhilesh a failed Chief Minister. Now they will contest under the same failed Chief Minister.”