Be single, don't mingle: Cong-SP affair irks Rahul

BETTER OFF ALONE: Rahul is not keen on a tie-up with the Samajwadi Party in UP.

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Keywords: Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party

New Delhi: A week, it was once said, is a long time in politics. The last week has been a dramatic illustration of that old chestnut.

As the Indo-US nuclear deal enters its political endgame, Congress and Samajwadi Party’s coming together to save the Government is being seen as the political alliance of the year.

Nine years after the SP raised the foreign origins issue to oppose her prime ministership, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has agreed to break bread with the erstwhile foes in what is being seen as the most dramatic political U-turn of the year.

But this tie-up will be temporary if party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has his way. The MP from Amethi and the party’s political scion has said he is in favour of Congress going alone in the states.

Sources in the Congress tell CNN-IBN that at a Friday evening meeting of the Congress's future challenges group, Rahul was skptical about the need for state-level alliances.

The Antony Committee report, which was asked to look at the Congress's strategy for the next elections, also suggested the same.

According to sources, Rahul said the Congress needed to assert its identity, which it will lose if it ties up with other parties.

Most observers see this as a clear sign that Rahul is not keen on a tie-up with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. SP leader Amar Singh is also playing safe.. He told CNN IBN that his party was not looking for an election alliance with the Congress.

“In my conversation with Sonia ji and Manmohan ji - unlike others - there was no pressure, blackmail or a deal behind the deal. There was no condition either because I haven’t offered anything yet,” he said.

He also denied reports of another speculation. “Let me tell you we are not interested in any Cabinet post,” he said.

For now, both the Congress and the SP seem keen to play down suggestions that a tie-up could extend beyond support for the nuclear deal.

But with General Elections not too far and with Mayawati a dominant presence in UP, both Rahul Gandhi and Amar singh will not find it easy to resist the temptation of striking a deal.