Akhilesh’s grand alliance plan for Uttar Pradesh has no takers

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s idea of replicating the Bihar model ahead of the 2017 assembly elections in the state does not appear to be gathering steam, with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal cool about the concept.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s idea of replicating the Bihar model ahead of the 2017 assembly elections in the state does not appear to be gathering steam, with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal cool about the concept.

A day after mooting the idea, Akhilesh himself appeared on the back foot, saying he was himself “confused” about what he said. (Sushil Kumar/HT photo)

A day after mooting the idea, Akhilesh himself appeared on the back foot, saying he was himself “confused” about what he said. “Every paper has a different story on what I said. I did not say anything on alliance or grand alliance but you published reports,” he said.

At the same time, the CM said SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav would take a call in the matter. “The SP parliamentary board and Netaji (Mulayam) will decide such matters. How can I decide?” he asked.

Akhilesh referred to Mayawati as his “bua” (father’s sister) but articulated fears about other possible alliances that might work to the SP’s disadvantage. “We will have to keep an eye on whether the BJP and the BSP are seeking an alliance. We need to keep an eye everywhere”, he said.

Although the BSP and the SP earlier contested as alliance partners, a senior BSP leader said prospects of a similar tie-up were “remote”. Sources in Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) also ruled out such possibilities.