RS biennial poll: SP asks Cong support for its third candidate

Lucknow, Nov 6 (UNI) The Samajwadi Party (SP) today said it was the duty of the Congress to support the third candidate of the SP in the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha polls after its unconditional support to the UPA government.

''The Congress should show its big heart and support the third candidate of the SP,'' said party's general secretary Amar Singh here after filing his nominations for the coming Rajya Sabha biennial polls.

Mr Singh said ''we have given unconditional support to the Congress led-UPA government at the Centre during the confidence vote on July 22 over the civil Nuclear Deal and did not even take the Cabinet berth after several requests by the Congress leadership,'' By now, the Congress should realise that the SP was its true friend as it had voluntarily supported its Rajya Sabha members in Madhya Pradesh in the past too.

''Though we had supported the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, but still they had poached our four MLAs just before the announcement of the assembly elections,'' he lamented.

With the help of 21 MLAs of Congress, SP can win the third seat in the Rajya Sabha polls. Presently SP has 94 members and it can officially win two seats.

Mr Singh and Mr Ram Gopal Yadav are the two official candidates of the SP, who had filed their nomination papers today.

SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav, meanwhile, said his party would stick to two official candidates of the party in the RS polls and the third candidate would be given ticket only after seeking support from the Congress.

UNI MB JAS RSA HS1556