Raj Babbar is a Rajya Sabha MP and chief of the Congress' UP unit.

The Congress said that it is preparing to field candidates for all 403 constituencies in the Uttar Pradesh polls, scheduled for February 11, despite speculation of an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the state."We are in the process of selecting candidates for all the seats," said UP Congress chief Raj Babbar in Lucknow.So far, candidates have been selected for the first three phases of the UP polls and Mr Babbar said that all the names will be recommended to the Congress' central election committee on Monday.Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said that he has not spoken to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav regarding an alliance with the Congress, according to PTI.Mr Akhilesh has been saying that his party will win majority in Uttar Pradesh and in case of an alliance, it will get over 300 seats.However, talks of an alliance seem to have hit a roadblock ever since the power struggle between Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav became public. Samajwadi Party founder-patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav also ruled out an alliance with any party.The Congress, though, appears to be moving closer to Akhilesh Yadav with the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister gaining the upper hand, according to PTI.

Press Trust of India also reported that while Mr Babbar is not in favour of an alliance with the SP, the Congress' Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad is not averse to the idea.