SP In A Soup: Successive poll defeats a portent ahead of Lok Sabha polls?
LUCKNOW It was a day of mirth and merry for the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party as it decimated its opponents not only in the civic polls but also in the bypolls held for Suar (Rampur) and Chhanbey (Mirzapur) assembly seats
LUCKNOW It was a day of mirth and merry for the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party as it decimated its opponents not only in the civic polls but also in the bypolls held for Suar (Rampur) and Chhanbey (Mirzapur) assembly seats. Conversely, the results -- being assessed by political analysts to gauge the mood of the state ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year -- didn’t reflect well on BJP’s principal opponent in Uttar Pradesh -- the Samajwadi Party.
Led by Akhilesh Yadav, SP could not win even a single mayoral seat out of the 17 on Saturday and it failed to snatch the Chhanbey seat from the fold of the saffron party’s alliance partner Apna Dal (S). Even more concerning was the party’s loss in Suar, a seat which it had won in 2022 assembly polls. Apna Dal (S) clinched the Suar seat as well.
These defeats are being seen as a pattern continuing from 2017 when the BJP wrestled power from the SP. Later, saffron party pinned down SP in 2019 Lok Sabha and then, in the 2022 assembly polls. Despite all his experiments and alliances, Akhilesh seems to be struggling to score a point for the party, which was founded by his father and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister late Mulayam Singh Yadav.
In 2017, SP joined hands with the Congress but the BJP managed to register a comfortable mandate in the state assembly. Later, in 2019, Akhilesh fought the Lok Sabha polls in alliance with his former arch-nemesis and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati. However, that experiment also failed to take off as the BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, cruised to victory. Finally, in 2022, SP struck an alliance with smaller parties, including the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), but this too didn’t go down well with the voters, who gave BJP a clear mandate for the second consecutive time.
Ahead of the 2023 civic polls, Akhilesh’s politically estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav rejoined the SP with hopes to secure a win for the party formed by his late brother. However, this too didn’t make a difference, especially as CM Yogi completely overshadowed SP leader by conducting more than 50 rallies across the state for the civic elections and bypolls. On the other hand, Akhilesh campaigned for SP on only seven mayoral seats. Significantly, he did not hold even a single rally in either Suar or Chhanbey.
In the run-up to the urban local body elections, several Samajwadi Party leaders claimed that the civic polls would mark the start of the downfall of the BJP in the state and eventually, all over the country. If the latest poll results are anything to go by, the on-ground situation seems to indicate the converse.
