Congress leadership is sure that the “grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh will happen” ahead of the 2019 General Elections posing a tough challenge to the BJP in the state which sends maximum number of MPs to the Lok Sabha. The party, however, feels that for “tactical reasons”, it is too early to discuss any details of how the alliance will engage Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in the upcoming polls.
There have been efforts to build a Mahagathbandhan ahead of the next general elections by bringing together major non-BJP parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the Congress. Alliance talks have gained momentum after a united opposition defeated the BJP in three consecutive Lok Sabha by-elections in UP earlier this year.
“The Mahaganthbandhan even existed in 2004. The only new thing this time around is that we would be extending it to UP,” said a top Congress leader.