Digvijay Singh rules out possibility of post-poll alliance with Samajwadi Party

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Thursday ruled out the possibility of a post-poll alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh, and said that the Congress would prefer sitting in the opposition rather than supporting any other political outfit.

"We have already told you earlier as well, so I wonder why this issue is raised repeatedly wherever we go. We have made it clear that we will prefer to sit in the opposition than to form a post-poll alliance. Anyway, all these things should be brought up after the results are declared on March 6," Singh told the media here.

He also said that the prospect of any post-poll coalition with the Samajwadi Party was untimely, as polling in the state was still in progress.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had indicated on Wednesday that his party may support the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after the state assembly polls in a bid to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from coming into power to prevent 'communal' forces.

Meanwhile, Maulana Syed Ghulam Kibria Dastagir, a senior Muslim cleric, urged the Muslim voters in Uttar Pradesh to vote for the Congress Party, and praised United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi for running the country very well.

"Congress Party's chairperson Sonia Gandhi is a fine administrator. She has been running the country very well. Our country is a secular one, which gives out a message of peace and love to the world," Dastagir said.

The Uttar Pradesh polls are being viewed as an opportunity for major parties to re-establish their foothold in the country's fifth largest and most populous state. new 403-member state assembly will be elected in March. The poll results will broadly indicate trends for the 2014 general elections. (ANI)