It is Congress that can challenge and defeat BJP in 2019 elections, says Sachin Pilot on SP-BSP alliance

Jaipur: It is the Congress that can challenge and defeat the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, Rajasthan’s deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said on Monday, while exuding confidence that the UPA, led by his party, will form the next government at the Centre. He said national and regional parties need to work together to fight powers “destroying” democratic institutions of the country. “The NDA has weakened as its key constituents have left, whereas the parties in the UPA have expressed their faith in the leadership of Congress president Rahul Gandhi,” Pilot told reporters in Jaipur. “The UPA will form the government in 2019 with Congress leadership.” Responding to a question on the Congress being left out of the SP-BSP pre-poll tie-up in Uttar Pradesh, Pilot said his party should not be considered weak. “It is the Congress that can challenge and defeat the BJP. The party has won three states, which gave new energy to our workers. We will now form the government at the Centre.” [caption id=“attachment_4100109” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Sachin PIlot. AFP[/caption] Left out of the SP-BSP pre-poll tie-up in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress on Sunday announced it would go it alone on all 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the upcoming general elections. Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad, however, has said his party would accommodate any secular force capable of taking on the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha election. About preparations for the Lok sabha elections, Pilot said the Congress will hold week-long meetings with the representatives of each Lok Sabha seat to finalise the candidates. He said that the party will give ticket to winnable candidates and youths would be in focus. When asked about Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav, who is in the race to get a ticket for the Lok sabha polls, he said preliminary talks have been held and the party will give ticket to winnable candidates. “Vaibhav Gehlot has been active in the party for a long time. He might not have got the opportunity due to some reasons in the past, but it will be our endeavour that candidates like him get a chance to come forward. The party’s focus is on youths, and there will be an effort to give a chance to them,” Pilot said. Pilot, who has completed five years as the president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, said the journey was challenging, but the party won all elections in the state, be it panchayat, Assembly and Lok Sabha bypolls and the recently held Assembly elections. “We worked together and won the elections with the support and strength of our lakhs of workers in the state,” he said.