Sought 5 seats, Congress offered only 1; alliance unlikely: BAP president Roat

JAIPUR: With Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) having announced its candidates for Banswara, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Pali, Jalore-Sirohi, and Tonk-Sawaimadhopur Lok Sabha seats, the plan for an alliance between the regional party and Congress looks remote.

BAP president Mohanlal Roat said on Sunday that his party had sought five seats from Congress to stitch an alliance with the INDIA bloc, but the national party was ready to offer it only the Banswara seat and Bagidora assembly seat (for by-poll). BAP had sought Banswara and Udaipur LS seats in Rajasthan, Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, Dahod in Gujarat, and the Dadra and Nagar Haveli seat, he said. BAP could not withdraw its candidate from Udaipur, he added.

BJP has fielded Congress turncoat Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya from Banswara. Malviya was a Congress MLA from Bagidora assembly seat. BAP has fielded Rajkumar Roat from Banswara and Prakash Chandra Buj from Udaipur seat.

“I do not think the alliance (with Congress) is a possibility anymore. We shall not withdraw the candidatures we have already announced. Even if there was no alliance, Congress could have at least left Banswara seat open, considering Malviya had betrayed them and joined the BJP,” Roat told TOI.

BJP has fielded Congress turncoat Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya in Banswara. Malviya was the MLA from the Bagidora assembly seat.

“We kept waiting for long. When Congress failed to decide on our demands, we announced our candidates. We had been in talks with senior Congress leaders since January. We met Congress’s National Alliance Committee convener Mukul Wasnik in New Delhi. He told us they could leave only Banswara LS seat for us,” said Roat.

“We told them (Congress) that Udaipur and Banswara seats belonged to BJP as it won them twice (2014 and 2019). We told them if they leave these two seats to BAP, it might help the INDIA alliance. But they (Congress) disagreed, saying they had nothing to lose in these seats and were ready to concede only one seat (Banswara) to us. Our team also met AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and AICC in-charge of Rajasthan, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. We tried our best,” added the BAP chief.