Akhilesh Yadav confident of Cong-SP tie-up

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Friday sought to strike an optimistic note saying his party was in touch with the Congress over the tie-up for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections which was "bound to lead to a positive outcome very soon".
    
"Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh are holding discussions with Congress leaders on the issue of a tie-up. The discussions are being held in a very positive atmosphere, something which has not been taken note of. Nevertheless, it is bound to lead to a positive outcome very soon", Yadav, party MP and son of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, told media-persons in Allahabad.

He claimed that both SP and Congress were "looking at the larger issue of containing forces like Bharatiya Janata Party and Bahujan Samaj Party" which would finally prevail over "minor differences".

Asked whether the SP, which had earlier declined to give more than 15 seats to the Congress, was likely to be more accommodating, Yadav said "only senior party leaders are authorised to speak on this".

He alleged that Uttar Pradesh was experiencing "organised corruption" under the BSP rule and the SP was determined to "give a befitting reply with the help of like-minded parties".
    
He also added that in states other than Uttar Pradesh, the SP "will decide its number of candidates after assessing its strength and possibilities".