Cong rules out NCP alliance in Uttaranchal polls

Dehradun, Sep 18: Ruling out the possibility of alliance with the NCP or other political parties, state Congress chief Harish Rawat today said the party was competent enough to fight Assembly elections on its own.

Giving a jolt to the Nationalist Congress Party's hint on possibility of forging alliance with the Congress, Mr Rawat asserted there was no possibility of forging an alliance neither with the NCP nor any other political parties.

However, he said, as NCP was one of the allies with the Congress in UPA government in the Centre, decision to this effect would be made by party High Command on national level.

''In Uttaranchal, the Congress is strong and confident enough to fight elections on its own,'' he told UNI today.

NCP National General Secretary DP Tripathy had, in a press conference prior to the NCP Convention here, had expressed the possibility of forging an alliance with the Congress in the state.

Denying the hype created by the recently-concluded BJP National Executive Meeting and NCP National convention, Mr. Rawat said it had no bearing on the masses in general.

''It was totally a leaders' affairs and general public had little to do with it,'' he said, adding if at all it has created any sort of hype in the public that would be dismantled by the Congress' ''Dhanyavad Rally'' to be held all over the state on September 23 in commemoration of the inaugural day of Tehri Dam and Congress Conclave at Tehri.

UNI