JD(U), Apna Dal forge alliance in UP

Lucknow, June 15 (UNI) Former union minister Sharad Yadav-led Janata Dal (United) today announced an alliance with local outfit Apna Dal to take on this Samajwadi Party and BSP in Uttar Pradesh.

JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said the name of the new alliance would be announced on June 25 during a series of 'Vishal Jan Chetna' rallies, to be held in east UP.

He said the objective of the new alliance would be to challenge the SP and BSP in the coming assembly polls. ''The two parties are being led as private limited entities, which is detrimental to the common man,'' he claimed.

On the role of SP general secretary Amar Singh, Mr Yadav said Singh had nothing to do with politics and was basically a businessman. ''He (Amar) had worked as a liaison officer with Birlas...he is doing the same job in SP,'' he claimed.

The new alliance would also organise state-wide agitations against price rise of essential commodities on June 19. ''Our workers would target the UP government as well as the Centre for inflation,'' he asserted.

The June 25 rallies to be held in Mirzapur, Varanasi and Jaunpur would be addressed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Mr Sharad Yadav and Apna Dal leader Sone Lal Patel.

Mr Yadav said the main reason for the newly-formed alliance was to challenge the SP and BSP. ''We have nothing to do with Vishwanath Pratap Singh's Jan Morcha,'' he added.

''In fact, BJP and Congress are not a challenge for us in UP,'' he said.

Recently, former Prime Minister V P Singh had announced creation of Jan Morcha, which would fight the 2007 assembly election in UP.

Some Muslim organisations, had also formed the People's Democratic Forum (PDF) to contest the coming assembly polls.

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