E-Paper
Now, UP rife with talk of SP-BSP grand alliance after parties back Congress in states
Congress’s victory in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh had revived its prospects, and support from SP and BSP had set off talks about a grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party’s support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has set off speculation of a similar anti-BJP grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, according to political observers.
Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Mayawati said she decided to support the Congress in order to keep the BJP out of power in both the states, though she did not agree with the ideology and the policies of the Congress.
The BSP won two seats in Madhya Pradesh and six seats in Rajasthan.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav too announced his party’s support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh with the one seat it has. The SP failed to open its account in Rajasthan.
“The SP is committed to keeping the BJP out of power. We have extended support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress will fulfill the promises made to the people during the election campaign,” he said in Lucknow.
The Congress fell just short of a majority in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan with 114 and 99 seats, respectively. The BSP and the SP’s support will help it cross the finish line and form the government.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh responded to the support by assuring Mayawati that Congress will fulfill the dreams of Dalit icons Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram, who is also the BSP founder. The top leadership of Congress was committed to the welfare of the weaker sections, he said.
Earlier, Mayawati had snubbed the Congress during talks for seat-sharing in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. She tied up with the Ajit Jogi-led Janata Congress Chattisgarh (JCC) in Chhattisgarh and went alone in the other states. Holding the Congress responsible for the failure of the talks, she said the BSP was not offered a respectable number of seats in the three states.
Both Mayawati and Akhilesh skipped an Opposition parties’ meeting in New Delhi on Monday. The meeting was convened to discuss the strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Although Congress leaders tried to play down the absence of the two leaders, their absence gave a jolt to opposition’s efforts to mobilise a grand alliance against the BJP the Lok Sabha election.
A political observer, RK Gautam said the Congress’s victory in the three states had revived the grand old party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. Now, the BSP and SP will have to rethink their Lok Sabha election strategy. Resurgence of the Congress in the three states would have an impact on UP as well, he said.
If the BSP and SP were working to form a formidable alliance against the BJP, then they will have to take Congress on the board, he said.
The two UP-based parties are working on a pre-poll alliance to stop the BJP from retaining power in the state the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Talks with Congress leaders will be held once the opposition parties discuss the seat-sharing formula for the general election, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said.
A senior BSP leader, who did not wish to be named, said Mayawati had made it clear that her party extended support to the Congress to stop the BJP from grabbing power in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In UP, talks were being held with the SP leadership for a pre-poll alliance in the LS election, he said.
Compared to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the base of the Congress was weak in UP, he pointed out.
A meeting of the party leaders will be held under the chairmanship of Mayawati soon to discuss the strategy for the Lok Sabha election and formation of a grand alliance, he said.
However, while announcing support to the Congress, Mayawati condemned its policy. Dalits, tribals, backwards and minorities were ignored under the Congress rule, she said.
“To fight for the welfare of these communities, we had to form a separate political party. If the Congress had followed the ideals of Ambedkar, then there would have been no need to launch a new party, nor the BJP would have gotten the opportunity to broaden its support base, she said.
In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the people were against the BJP, she said. Considering the Congress to be a formidable alternative, they voted for it, she said.
The statement of JCC chief Ajit Jogi during the election campaign that the alliance was open to an alternative after the election also helped the Congress, she said.
