Political observers feel this could very well sound a death knell for the rocky alliance between the two parties.

The SP-Congress seat-sharing talks in UP has hit many a turbulent waters with the SP announcing its reluctance to accommodate the Congress demands. While the Congress initially started off with a demand of 40 seats, scaling it down now to 25, the SP appeared loath to leave more than 16, arguing that the Congress won only 10 in the 2004 polls. The situation now is that there are just 19 out of 80 seats in UP, on which the SP has not announced its candidates.

Now that it is clear that the Congress was not prepared to settle for anything less than 25 seats could mean that the two parties, if they enter into the alliance, will end up in bitter fights in “friendly contests” on eight to 10 seats. In Bahuguna’s words, “in politics there is never an uncertainty and never a certainty. You can never give a definite option, the issue (of alliance) is open.”

Over the next two days it is expected to get clear whether Congress president Sonia Gandhi and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav are able to work out a working relationship between the two parties. “We are meeting leaders at various levels…we are also having our internal meetings. But as a state president, it is my duty that we are prepared to contest on all 80 seats,” she said.

Political observers, however, say that there may not be an alliance at all, especially the way situation is unfolding over the days. In fact senior Congress leaders from UP have virtually reconciled to going it alone.

“We are going ahead with our campaign and election strategy assuming that we may have to contest all 80 seats. Anyways we have not much to lose in UP if the alliance fails to come up. But we are also keen not to allow the rejuvenation of the BJP and help out the BSP,” they say.