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Alliance for Lok Sabha polls: Congress may have to play second fiddle in Uttar Pradesh
Such a prospect has become a point of discussion in the state’s political circles as the Congress steps up efforts to get other opposition parties on board on the issue of disqualification of senior party leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha,
If the Congress works out an electoral alliance in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party may have to play second fiddle to other major opposition parties, according to analysts.
Such a prospect has become a point of discussion in the state’s political circles as the Congress steps up efforts to get other opposition parties on board on the issue of disqualification of senior party leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha.
With a weak organisational structure in the state, the Congress has been unable to moblise much support on the disqualification issue, which has only evoked a mixed response so far. And it remains to be seen whether the opposition parties are able to close ranks and work together in the days ahead.
For now, a divided opposition has remained advantageous to the BJP.
For his part, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav came out in favour of Rahul Gandhi, saying the BJP was seeking its political future by implicating leaders of opposition parties in minor cases.
On the other hand, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the Congress must think whether what happened in 1975 was right and whether what is happening now to Rahul Gandhi is right.
If the political developments give any indication, forming an alliance will be a challenging task for the Congress in U.P. Akhilesh Yadav has suggested that the Congress should support regional giants in different states if it wanted to see the BJP dislodged in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“There seems to be a clear division among the ranks of the opposition and the BJP remains in an advantageous position. The leaders of opposition parties must sacrifice their personal interests and take a view in the larger interest. The Congress cannot always play the role of a big brother. It has to make a compromise in the larger interest of opposition’s unity,” said Professor SK Dwivedi, former head of department, Lucknow University.
The SP and the BSP had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election as allies.
The BJP won 62 Lok Sabha seats securing 49.56% votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP’s ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) won two seats with 1.2% votes. The BSP won 10 seats securing 19.26% votes. The Samajwadi Party won five seats with 17.96% votes. The Congress won only one seat securing 6.31% of votes. Rahul Gandhi had lost the Amethi Lok Sabha seat then but won from Wayanad in Kerala (he was disqualified on March 24).
In 2014, the BJP had won 71 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and secured 42.63% votes. The BJP’s ally Apna Dal had won two Lok Sabha seats, securing 0.02% of valid votes in the state. The BSP failed to win any seat though the party secured 19.77% of the valid votes. The SP won five seats and polled 22.35% of valid votes. The Congress had won two seats in U.P, securing 7.53% of the valid votes.
The BJP had won 255 assembly seats in the 2022 elections, securing 44.5% votes. Its ally Apna Dal (S) won 12 seats while the NISHAD Party and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik Party won two seats. The SP that contested the poll in alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal won 111 seats (37.25% votes) while the RLD won eight assembly seats (33.88%) votes. The Congress contested 399 seats of the state legislative assembly in 2022 polls. The party’s tally touched a new low winning only two assembly seats and securing 2.36% votes. The BSP won only one seat securing 12.88% votes.
