Most Congress leaders from UP want Rahul Gandhi to have an alliance with the BSP.
There is a buzz in political corridors that Rahul Gandhi may be planning to take an initiative to bringing over the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the I.N.D.I.A bloc. However, leaders privy to latest developments suggest that the Congress has not taken any concrete steps on the matter.
Sources suggest that the Congress has marked out a proper strategy to get the BSP onboard. A source mentioned, “The Congress knows that the Samajwadi Party is not interested in allying with the BSP, as the SP thinks that the BSP is a fallen angel and believes that an alliance with Mayawati would resurrect her, which will eventually hound them in the Assembly elections. Moreover, the SP doesn’t want to give away many seats as it wants to keep the major chunk of seats with itself. Thereby, the Congress may be planning to give the BSP additional seats in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and other states which would compensate for the demand of their seat share.”
During a recent meeting attended by leaders from Uttar Pradesh, a source reported that most of the leaders from UP had suggested Rahul Gandhi to have an alliance with the BSP as it would help the Opposition bloc to have more votes in the state. “However, it was just a suggestion,” the leader said. Congress spokesperson in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, “There are national committees formed and thereby if there is anything happening related to the induction of parties. They will see to it.”
A political analyst, Aditya Rathi said, “The BSP still has around 14% votes intact, of which most are Jatavs. If Mayawati becomes a part of the alliance, it will have an additional Dalit face which would help the bloc establish better optics in the caste politics they are planning to execute. Moreover, in western UP, they will have a solid combination of Muslim, Jats and Dalits. And on most of such seats they will have an upper edge as BJP would look weak there. However, if BSP is inducted, SP will have to take fewer seats out of the 80 and they will not like it. They have outrightly rejected any alliance with them.”
In a recent I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting, SP leaders asked Congress to clarify its stance on rumours of BSP joining the alliance. SP leaders emphasised that they were against the inclusion of BSP in the alliance.
A source present at the meeting stated, “No one rejected SP’s disagreement over bringing the BSP into the alliance—neither Rahul Gandhi, nor Sonia Gandhi, nor Mallikarjun Kharge. Nobody rejected their claims in the meeting.”
However, a Member of Parliament told The Sunday Guardian, “Congress already has a face in Mallikarjun Kharge, so it is unlikely that they would want to include Mayawati.” Moreover, a top source in the Samajwadi Party indicated that there have been no talks with the SP regarding the entry of any new party. He added, “Who are they to bring anyone into the alliance? If there is a new entry, it will be discussed among all partners in the I.N.D.I.A bloc, or at least the partners from that particular state.
It is not Congress’ frontal organisation that they will include anyone without consulting anyone.”