Congress does not rule out tie-ups with smaller parties in UP

Apparently after the Bihar poll disaster, Congress seems to have changed its line of "going in alone" in Uttar Pradesh with senior leader Digvijay Singh today not ruling out tie-ups with smaller parties in the assembly polls there next year.

"We can have alliance with smaller parties. But there will be no tie-up with BSP, BJP and Samajwadi Party", Singh, who is the party general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, told reporters.

Giving indications that the Congress has started preparations for the UP polls in right earnest, he said that the first list of party candidates would be out before May 31.

Suggesting that not much political meaning should be drawn from the Congress decision to withdraw its candidate in favour of a SP nominee in an assembly bypoll recently, he said the party did so as it did not have a viable candidate there.

He said that the ten observers appointed by the AICC for Uttar Pradesh have given their reports to party general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

Brushing aside questions whether Congress could tieup with Amar Singh's Lok Manch which is also a small party, he said that he travelled with Amar to Farukhabad together for a private function and "we discussed a lot of things except politics".