Are these parties part of Samajwadi Party's Grand Alliance?

Though SP has denied it, there was speculation that Congress will be a part of the grand alliance

Bengaluru, Oct 27: On Wednesday, Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav hinted that a grand alliance is on the cards to take on the BJP in the forthcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Although there was speculation that the Congress is likely to be a part of the grand alliance, the party denied it.

The Nov 5 event of the Samajwadi Party being held to celebrate its silver jubilee would give a clear picture as to who would be part of the alliance. For this grand event, the Congress has not yet been given an invitation. In fact UP Congress President, Raj Babbar himself made it clear that he had received no such event.

Who will be part of the grand alliance:

Sources say that the invitations have gone out to leaders from four parties. They are Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav of the JD(U), Laloo Prasad Yadav of the RJD, Ajit Singh and Jayant Choudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal and H D Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (Secular).

Observers in Uttar Pradesh say that this invitation could be an indication as to who would be part of the grand alliance. It is an idea that was originally floated by Mulayam Singh Yadav and the charge of making it a reality has been given to his brother Shivpal.

Shivpal, in fact, said that Netaji (Mulayam) had authorised him to meet with several leaders and bring secular parties under one roof. He, however, said that this was being done to prevent communal forces from coming to power.

If the grand alliance does become a reality and manages to succeed, then it would be Shivpal who would walk away with the credit.

Even the last time, it was Shivpal who brought together a grand alliance after the BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. That alliance comprised the SP, RJD, INLD, Samajwadi Janata Party (C), JD(S) and the JD(U).

The alliance, however, did not work and after conducting a few demonstrations against Narendra Modi in Delhi, it fell apart. The SP hopes that this time the alliance would stand together as there is an election to fight.

OneIndia News