After senior leader and former minister Kapil Sibal filed nomination for Rajya Sabha as independent with Samajwadi Party's support giving a jolt to Congress, the veteran leader said it's not appropriate for him to say anything about the grand old party.
Sibal said he had resigned from the Congress on May 16 and is an independent voice.
After parting ways with the grand old party, Kapil Sibal said, "I'll not say anything about Congress. I've resigned, so it's not appropriate for me to say anything about Congress."
"It's not easy to leave a relationship of 30-31 years," Sibal added.
"I'll not say anything about Congress. I've resigned, so it's not appropriate for me to say anything about Congress. It's not easy to leave a relationship of 30-31 years," Kapil Sibal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats spread across 15 states will take place on June 10. The maximum number of seats falls in Uttar Pradesh i.e. 11.
The SP is in a comfortable position to win three seats. The party had in the past as well supported Sibal's candidature by transferring its surplus votes. In the current scenario, the SP has around 20 surplus votes that it can transfer to the fourth candidate.
Sibal is known to have close ties with the Yadav family as a senior advocate.
He had argued in January 2017 (during the Yadav family feud) at the Election Commission that Akhilesh Yadav should get the 'Bicycle' symbol.
Notably, the veteran leader was a Union Minister in UPA government and off-late was very critical of Rahul Gandhi and the functioning of the party. Three parties, including RJD and JMM, were inclined to support him but he chose SP.
In 2016, Sibal was elected to the Rajya Sabha from UP as Congress candidate supported by the then ruling Samajwadi Party but now, since the Congress has only two MLAs in the state Assembly, is not in a position to elect anybody.
In UP, where the election to 11 seats is due, the BJP can win seven and the Samajwadi Party three seats - and the latter will still have 20 surplus votes. However, problem will arise for the 11th seat if the BJP fields its eighth candidate, which will necessitate an election.
