Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said BSP chief Mayawati’s decision not to form an alliance with his party in Madhya Pradesh will not impact its poll prospects in the state even as he suggested that the BSP may come on board for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati had earlier on Wednesday said that her party will not at any cost forge an alliance with the Congress for the assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

“BSP will fight assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on its own. No alliance with Congress,” Mayawati had said.

The decision turns out to be a huge setback for the Congress as it has shattered its hopes of uniting against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

However, Rahul Gandhi at the HT Leadership Summit in New Delhi said, “I don’t see the BSP alliance impacting us much in Madhya Pradesh,”

However, the Congress chief said it would have been better to have an alliance and expressed confidence that the party will win upcoming assembly elections in all states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana.

To a question on alliance talks, Gandhi said, “The alliance in state and the alliance in the Centre are very different…Mayawatiji has indicated that. We were pretty flexible in the state, in fact I was more flexible than some of our state leaders. We were in the midst of the conversation but I guess they decided to go their own way”.

However, Gandhi suggested that the BSP will form an alliance with the Congress in the 2019 general elections.

“I think in national elections parties will come together particularly in Uttar Pradesh,” he said, adding the BSP has indicated that it may come on board for the 2019 elections.

Mayawati tore into the Opposition saying that the party leaders are under the misconception that they can defeat BJP on their own.

“They (Congress) are getting arrogant and are under misconception that they can defeat BJP on their own but the ground reality is that people haven’t forgiven Congress party for their mistakes and corruption…They don’t seem to be ready to rectify themselves,” Mayawati said.

She also said she feels that only Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s intentions for Congress-BSP alliance are honest, while the rest of the leaders are trying to sabotage it.

Mayawati also alleged that the Congress, like the BJP was conspiring to finish off BSP.

The BSP had earlier released a list of 22 candidates for the 230-seat Madhya Pradesh Assembly stating that it would fight alone in the elections.

Mayawati has time and again maintained her stand that the BSP will tie up with only those parties which are ready to allocate a respectable number of seats to her party.

Earlier in July, Mayawati had warned the Congress leaders of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh of not forming an alliance if not given a respectable number of seats.

(With PTI inputs)