SP rules out possibility of being part of INDIA alliance in MP polls, release two names

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has declared names of two more candidates for the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls due this year-end, taking the number of its candidates to six.

Asked if the Samajwadi Party will contest the MP polls in alliance with the Congress as a constituent of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), SP state president Ramayan Singh Patel ruled out such a possibility.

“The decision about the alliance in any state is taken by the party's national leadership, but as of now we don't see any possibility of such an alliance in Madhya Pradesh for the upcoming assembly polls. But, our national president will take a decision in this regard,” Patel told PTI on Sunday.

The opposition bloc INDIA is an alliance of 26 political parties, including the Congress and the SP.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been the main political opponents with a marginal role of other parties.

Notably, the SP is the third party after the BJP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to declare candidates even though the assembly polls schedule is yet to be announced by the Election Commission.

The BJP had released a list of 39 candidates and the BSP of seven nominees.

The SP, led by former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, managed to secure one seat in the 2018 polls to the 230-member MP assembly.

On August 23, the SP released a list of four candidates from seats in Bundelkhand and Gwalior-Chambal belt, located near the Uttar Pradesh border.

The party has also released names of candidates for two more seats, both from Vindhya region.

It has fielded Vishwanath Singh Gaud Markam from Dhauhani and Shravan Kumar Singh Gaud from Chitrangi. Both the seats are under Sidhi district, which is located near the UP border.

Patel said so far, the SP has declared candidates in six seats.

He said at present, his party leadership has directed the state unit to contest elections in all seats.

The party will make an announcement whenever it finds suitable candidates for different seats, he said, adding that preparations are underway for the upcoming polls.

Asked about issues the SP intends to raise in the MP polls, Patel said his party leadership has already announced a caste-based census.

Besides, unemployment allowance of more than Rs 3,000 per month for youth, government guarantee for business loans for youth and loan waiver for farmers will be among the issues which the party will take to the people, he said.

In 2018, SP candidate Rajesh Shukla won from Bijawar seat in Chhatarpur district, but he was later expelled for anti-party activities. Shukla later joined the BJP.

While no party won a clear majority in the 2018 assembly polls in MP, the Congress won a maximum of 114 seats in the 230-member House. The BJP won 109 seats. The Congress formed a coalition government under Kamal Nath with the support of SP, BSP and independent candidates.

However, the Nath government collapsed after 15 months when a section of Congress MLAs, most of them loyal to Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, quit and joined the BJP.

The saffron party returned to power in March 2020 with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as chief minister once again.