'Don't Underestimate Us': Rahul Gandhi Hints Congress Ready to Fight Solo in UP After SP-BSP Snub

Days after the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) gave contours of an electoral alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has hinted that his party is ready to fight elections alone.

In an interview to Gulf News ahead of his visit to UAE on January 11, Gandhi said there were “very interesting things” the party can do in Uttar Pradesh. “The Congress idea is very powerful for Uttar Pradesh. So, we are very confident of our ability in Uttar Pradesh and we will surprise people,” he was quoted as saying.

Gandhi’s comments are the first indication of the party’s plan B after the regional players decided to desert it. Calling it a “big mistake” to underestimate the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, the party chief said efforts were on to bring the Opposition together and the “first aim is to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. Gandhi also said he was confident of stitching together alliances in several states.

Soon after it joined hands with the BSP, SP national vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda had said the party did not need an "insignificant" force like the Congress to defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Nanda had, however, hinted that the SP-BSP alliance might just leave aside the Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies, represented in the Lok Sabha by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Congress president.

Nanda felt the Congress was yet to adjust to the mantra of "alliance politics" as it was unwilling to "leave even an inch to its allies in states where it is strong, but expects others to share their pound of flesh with it in states where it is a weak force".

Asked whether keeping the Congress out of the alliance in Uttar Pradesh would be an advantage for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said, "From our past experiences, we can say, in cases where the Congress had fielded candidates against the SP-BSP alliance, we did not face any problem in defeating the BJP. The Congress's vote share is completely insignificant. Rather there have been instances where the Congress had not put up its candidate in a seat and the BJP got its vote share."