Bhopal, June 18: The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has decided to go solo in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections 2018 scheduled for later this year. Amid reports that the Congress and BSP were in talks over a possible alliance in MP, Mayawati has decided that her party will contest all 230 seats in MP. Reports say that the Congress and the BSP are no more in talks for a pre-poll alliance in the state.

"I was asked by the media that Congress leaders were saying that there are discussions underway with the BSP for an alliance for the next assembly elections. I clarified that we are not in discussions at the state level and, I think, neither at the central leadership level,"  BSP state president Narmada Prasad Ahirwar told PTI.

"As things stand today, we are going to contest all 230 Assembly seats. I have received no directives in this connection (alliance) from the central leadership," Ahirwar added.

The Congress, too, clarified that it never said alliance talks were underway with the BSP. “We never named any party. The Congress only said that we would try to have an alliance with political parties with a similar ideology. We never mentioned the BSP’s name. It will depend on the situation when we enter the election phase,” Madhya Pradesh Congress’ media department’s chief Manak Agarwal said.

This comes at a time when the Opposition parties in India are in talks for a grand alliance to contest against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Madhya Pradesh Assembly Polls 2018 are likely to be held in November-December. In the 2013 MP Assembly elections, the Congress and the BSP polled 36.38 per cent and 6.29 per cent of the votes respectively against the BJP’s 44.88 per cent. The BJP won 165 seats, the Congress 58, the BSP four while Independents won three seats in the 230-member Assembly.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2018 11:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).