SP rules out alliance with Third front or Left

Ruling out any post-poll tie-up with the Third Front or the Left parties as long as the Bahujan Samaj Party is with them, the Samajwadi Party on Sunday said it was, however, not averse to an alliance with the Congress.

"As long as our arch rival BSP chief Mayawati is with the Left parties or the Third Front, we are not going for any post-poll alliance them," SP general secretary Amar Singh told media-persons in Kolkata on Sunday. However, the party is not averse to an alliance with the Congress, he said.

"The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance ran the government for the last one year with our help after the Left parties withdrew support on the signing of the civil nuclear deal but they turned down our offer of 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh. We had never been so ungrateful...however, we are not averse to a tie-up with the Congress in post-poll scenario if the situation demand," Singh said.

Launching a scathing attack against the Communist Party of India-Marxist leadership, Singh said, "We had good relation with the CPM during the time of Harkishen Singh Surjeet, but Prakash Karat is altogether a different person." On the question of prime ministership, he said, "The emerging situation will decide who will be the prime minister. Let the Congress first win the confidence of magic number."