Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is trying to create a third front in Uttar Pradesh and is secretly in talks with All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen over seat sharing, the sources said.
The party insiders suggest that both the parties are planning to create a strong front on around 30 Muslim dominated Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
The negotiations over the tie up is seen to be in initial phase and if the alliance comes to fruition, it could permanently stave off the probability of BSP joining the broad-based opposition bloc led by Congress. A party insider said, “There is high possibility that the two parties (BSP and AIMIM) can come together and create a third front just to break away the opposition votes. There is also high possibility that BJP will at least repeat its recent Lok Sabha tally of 62 seats and yet BJP is working hard to dislodge the opposition on every seat possible. As BJP wants to clean sweep the elections in UP, BSP-AIMIM alliance will be instrumental to help them reach that target.”
“This combination would be made just to project a Muslim-Dalit front. To take away the votes of Congress party which is sure that the two communities (Dalits and Muslims) will vote for it. However, it will be difficult for any third coalition to make any substantial dent. It can just play as an option which will try to play spoilsport for the Congress led alliance. And how much it would be capable to damage. That we will get to know only after election are over and results are out,” a political analyst in Uttar Pradesh said.
Although, a section of Congress leaders are still hopeful that she might come into the alliance as the argument they advance is that the BSP knows that not fighting with either of the alliances led by BJP or Congress would turn out politically fatal for her as she might further lose her vote bank and slip into a space of minor parties.
However, there is a widespread understanding among SP leadership that it would be difficult to accommodate BSP. One, due to it being a regional rival to SP. Therefore, accommodating BSP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections would resurrect its diminishing existence which would challenge the principality of Samajwadi Party in the next assembly elections.
Two, the SP would have to give substantial space to BSP in terms of seat share which it is quite reluctant to as the party doesn’t want to cede its turf just for the sake of seat sharing but on winnability.