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Cong. lukewarm to Kalyan Singh's suggestion

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRIL 28. The Congress reaction to the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Kalyan Singh's suggestion for an umbrella alliance of parties opposed to the BSP-BJP alliance in the State has been lukewarm.

"There is no proposal before us," said Motilal Vora, AICC general secretary in-charge of the State. That Mr. Singh's proposal is nowhere near materialising was also evident from the fact that both the Samajwadi Party and the Congress have put up separate candidates for the Cherigaon byelection. The seat fell vacant after the death of the sitting MLA who belonged to the SP. Significantly, the BJP has not staked its claim for the seat and is supporting the BSP candidate. This is almost a repeat of the manner in which the Congress and the SP failed to reach an agreement for last month's byelections to the Gauriganj and Haidergarh Assembly seats. The two parties did consult each other informally, but failed to clinch the issue. The SP won the Haidergarh, while the Congress lost the prestigious Gauriganj seat from Amethi.

Relations between the two parties have improved considerably since the time when the SP refused to extend support the formation of a Sonia Gandhi-led Government in 1999. There is growing realisation over the feasibility of the two sides joining hands, but some of the frostiness still remains. Yet another reason for the lukewarm reaction is the fact that the Congress leadership still has serious reservations over the former Chief Minister. "We cannot forget that he was amongst those who conspired to bring down the Babri Masjid," says a senior Congress leader.

However, as far as the SP is concerned, it appears that both sides are holding out and would like to wait till nearer the polls before seriously embarking on the business of working on an electoral alliance.

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