BJP to expose contradictions in SP-Cong ‘alliance’

BJP plans to target the Congress’s slogan, ‘27 saal, UP behaal’ since the BJP, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party were in power all these years. The Congress slogan was aimed at targeting these three parties, one of whom it now plans to partner with.

The buzz in political circles in Uttar Pradesh suggests that the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership postponed its Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on Tuesday to redraw its strategy ahead of the likely ‘grand alliance’ among the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

BJP leaders say that it is an unethical alliance that signals how demonetisation has made them make such political compromises. (HT File Photo)

The BJP insiders said they planned to expose the “inherent contradictions” among the alliance partners.

For instance, a party source said the BJP will pick on the Congress’ pre-alliance slogan ‘27 saal, UP behaal’ (UP in bad shape for 27 years). The Congress has been out of power in UP since 1989.

In the 27 years since, the BJP, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have been in power. The Congress slogan was aimed at targeting these three parties, one of whom it now plans to partner with.

“It’s an unethical alliance that signals how demonetisation has made them make such political compromises,” said UP BJP general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak.

The BJP plans to market the alliance in poll-bound UP as a ‘desperate but futile’ unity attempt by “ideologically opposite” political forces to stop the BJP.

Congress leaders say they are aware that they will be targeted. “They tried that in Bihar but failed. Let them try that here, they will fare worse,” said the Congress’s Hilal Naqvi.