The Congress and Samajwadi Party have taken a combative approach towards each other.
NEW DELHI
The Opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh, constituting the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP), has been unable to iron out its differences after the grand old party refused to accommodate SP in Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, it is seen that both the parties have taken a combative approach towards each other, as sources suggest that SP is further planning to contest the upcoming elections in Haryana to disturb Congress’ standing.
To add to the complexity, leaders around Mayawati have also been indicating that she doesn’t want any kind of alliance with Akhilesh Yadav, due to him being a direct competitor for chief ministerial position. Moreover, a party insider said, she also wants a bigger chunk of seat share where she can accommodate more aspirants from her party for more Lok Sabha seats. A leader said, “If she comes along with SP there are high chances that she will get a small number of seats; that is why she doesn’t want any alliance with SP.”
However, leaders from both the parties (SP and Congress) indicate that things will change once the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting is held again after the results of Assembly elections in five states (after 3 December). AICC secretary co-incharge Uttar Pradesh Pradeep Narwal told The Sunday Guardian, “For now, both the parties are working together under the I.N.D.I.A bloc, and the alliance is totally alive to defeat the BJP. So, whatever differences are visible there in public, they don’t mean anything. Akhilesh Yadav ji and Congress are together for the larger purpose.”
Dr Sanjay Gupta, Political Science professor, Lucknow University, said, “There is no way Congress can do anything on its own in Uttar Pradesh; it doesn’t have that base compared to SP. If Congress and BSP come together, I am very clear about one thing, minority votes will split and it will benefit none among Opposition parties. Earlier, we have seen that minority votes have been en masse going to SP. Also, BSP is no more an effective party because with the sliding down of Mayawati, the party has lost much of its charisma.”
He added, “As of now, there are two main political parties in UP, one is the ruling party BJP and another is the Samajwadi Party. It would be prudent for the Congress to go with Samajwadi Party and not with any other party. They may come up with the combination of several parties, but that is not going to work at all, whether there is RLD or others. If it wants to garner votes, it can only happen with SP.”
A political analyst in Uttar Pradesh said, “Last time, when Akhilesh Yadav was talking about the third front, it was before the Assembly elections of Karnataka. Then the Congress won and the third front faded as all the Opposition parties fell in line with the Congress.
The same thing could happen after 3 December. The Congress is expecting a win in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Then they may at least be close to majority in two more states like Telangana and Rajasthan. Therefore, that scenario will give back Congress the status of significance in national arena and increase its negotiating power which will have a bearing on the Congress’ leadership in terms of acceptance and be accepted more than it was accepted in yesteryears.”