Pulls and pressures over seat sharing delaying efforts to form grand secular alliance in UP

Different sorts of pulls and pressures regarding seat sharing seem to be delaying efforts to form a "grand secular alliance" in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. In an indication to this effect was available on Wednesday with AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad saying that it could "even take 100-hours" to declare the details about the anti-BJP combine.

"It can take 48-hours and it can even take 100-hours", Azad merely said in reply to a host of questions on the possible alliance from reporters at the AICC headquarters. He declined to answer further questions.The statement of Azad, who is General Secretary in charge of UP, was at variance with his Tuesday’s remarks in which he had said that the nitty-gritty of the alliance would be decided in the next two days.

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On Tuesday, he had declared that the Congress has decided to tie up with Samajwadi Party and the shape of the formation would be announced in the next two days. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who heads the Samajwadi Party, had also said on Tuesday that a decision on tying up with the Congress will be taken in a "day or two".

Also Read: UP Elections 2017: Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance 'almost done', Ghulam Nabi Azad says details will be announced in next two days

Hectic efforts are underway to hammer out such an alliance with Congress being offered 90 to 100 seats by the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, which is also trying to rope in as a junior partner the RLD, which was once a stronghold of Ajit Singh. Uttar Pradesh has 403 Assembly constituencies where Akhilesh's party would be contesting the majority of seats.

The refrain in several opposition parties including Congress and SP was that the Narendra Modi-led BJP should be stopped in Uttar Pradesh as the electoral outcome would have a major bearing on the next Lok Sabha polls.