Kamal Nath confirms Cong-BSP tie-up bid in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Congress leadership on Saturday confirmed an attempt is being made to forge an alliance with BSP before assembly elections.


PCC chief Kamal Nath said, “Our effort is to bring together all like-minded parties so that BJP does not get the advantage of fragmented votes.” He evaded a question when asked who was in contact with BSP chief Mayawati.

Sources in the PCC office said not just BSP, an understanding could also be forged with

Gondwana Gantantra Party

, which holds considerable influence in tribal-reserved seats in Mandla, Dindori, Jabalpur and Chhindwara districts. If this happens, the entire scenario of the assembly elections could change.

The state has 15% Dalit votebank and at least 60 seats where BSP has influence. BSP polled 6.3% of votes in the 2013 elections. While BJP’s voteshare was 44.8%, Congress’s was 36.3%. A Congress-BSP alliance could play an important role in bridging this 8.5% gap.

State Congress spokesman Ravi Saxena told TOI, “There are more than 40 seats where BSP cuts into our vote-bank. An alliance will help us win these seats.”



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