Congress says it is allying with SP for UP polls, will contest from 105 seats

NEW DELHI: It was touch and go there for a while, but the Congress party finally announced today that it has forged an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and will contest from 105 seats in the upcoming . Over the past few days, a Congress-SP alliance was looking remote as he wouldn't offer the Congress a chance to contest from more than 100 seats. The Congress wanted to contest as many as 121 seats. Yesterday, Akhilesh said his final offer was 99-100 seats for the Congress. That the Congress says it managed to wrangle 105, means it managed to save some face after what seemed to be a 'take it or leave it'offer from Akhilesh. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi may have had something to do with it, as SP sources yesterday claimed she took charge of negotiations which remained stuck despite dispatching her personal emissary to cajole Akhilesh. Congress strategists felt that they should accept the SP's offer rather than risk electoral humiliation. So far, the SP and the BSP remain the most viable challengers for the BJP's bid to form the government in UP. Teaming up with Akhilesh offers Congress a way out of the political bind as it could project its plans as a "sacrifice for the cause of secularism."