Bhopal: Veteran leader Digvijay Singh has said that he has no clue about why the seat-sharing talks between Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) had failed despite the fact that his colleague Kamal Nath was honest about going along with the INDIA alliance partner in the November 17 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.
Speaking for the first time on the issue, Singh told the media here late on Monday that Nath was very sincere about the Congress-SP alliance in MP and had asked him through party leader Ashok Singh to start seat-sharing talks with the SP delegation led by Deep Narayan Yadav.
SP had won one seat Bijawar (Bundelkhand region) in the 2018 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh and was second in two other assembly constituencies.
“SP wanted six seats. But, I suggested to Mr Nath to leave four seats for the party”, he said.
Later, the issue was taken up with the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the party’s Central leadership, he said, adding that “But, the Central leadership of the party had referred back the matter to the state party leadership to take a call on it”.
“I don’t know where this alliance talk got derailed. But, as far as Mr Nath is concerned, I can say that he wanted to have an alliance with the SP with full honesty”, he said.
He however sought to downplay the war of words between SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and Mr Nath triggered by the failure of seat-sharing talks between the two parties, saying that “Friendly fights do take place between alliance partners. But, I know the SP and Akhilesh will never go with the BJP”, he added.
The issue had threatened to create a rift in the nascent INDIA alliance with Mr Yadav indicating a ‘tit-for-tat’ treatment to Congress in Uttar Pradesh in the coming polls.
The SP has also declared its candidates in 46 out of the total 230 assembly seats in three phases, making its intention clear to go it alone in the ensuing assembly polls in MP.
Mr Singh admitted that the party was facing an issue over selection of candidates in some seats and said he along with AICC general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Randeep Surjewala had started damage control exercises to contain the dissensions.
His statement comes amid the party facing unrest in at least four dozen assembly constituencies over selection of candidates in these seats.
At least a dozen senior leaders quit the party for being denied tickets in the polls.
“There were around 4,000 aspirants for 230 assembly seats. Obviously, all of them cannot get a ticket”, he said.
He said party’s Pichhore MLA K C Singh was shifted to Shivpuri with the anticipation that Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia might be fielded in the seat by BJP.
But, Mr Scindia did not figure in any list of candidates declared by BJP so far.
