Mulayam non-committal on backing Cong-led alliance Thursday, May 13 2004 16:53 Hrs (IST)
Lucknow:
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was today (May 13, 2004) non-committal on extending support to a Congress-led alliance at the Centre, saying a decision would be taken after consulting party MPs, MLAs and its alliance partner, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).
"The party might have to consult its MPs, MLAs, district presidents besides its alliance partner, the RLD before arriving at any decision in this regard," Yadav told reporters when asked about supporting a Congress-led alliance at the Centre.
The SP chief said a meeting of the party's parliamentary board has been convened tomorrow in New Delhi to decide about its future strategy.
Alleging that the Congress and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee went all out to damage the party's electoral prospects in the State, he said the "Congress called us BJP's agent while Vajpayee misled the minority community about our party".
In reply to a question, Yadav said the Congress-led alliance was free to elect its leader.
When asked whether he felt "marginalised" in view of the fact that the Congress-led alliance might not require SP support in the formation of the Government, Yadav said that power has never been the SP's aim.
When asked whether he would continue to head the State Government after being elected as an MP or prefer to go to Delhi, he said the party would take a decision in this regard.