By Pradeep Kapoor
LUCKNOW: After the success in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections, the SP-BSP alliance seems to be all set to become a game changer in 2019 polls.
Much significance is being attached to the announcement made by BSP national president Mayawati after the Rajya Sabha polls that the alliance between her party and Samajwadi Party would continue till 2019. Mayawati said that the alliance will stop BJP coming to power again at the Centre.
After the defeat of her candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls despite support from SP and Congress, the BJP was expecting that Mayawati would blame Akhilesh Yadav and the Congress. But to the shock of the BJP leadership Mayawati not only praised and thanked SP and Congress but also said that she was willing to forget the guest house episode of 1995. In June 1995, Mayawati was forced to spend hours in a VIP guesthouse in Lucknow, fearing for her life, as SP goons waited outside. Just a day before, her party had broken alliance with the SP. After the guesthouse episode, she went on to form the government with BJP’s help.
Akhilesh Yadav reciprocated the gesture of Mayawati by removing the tweet of thanking mafia turned politician and independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya and cancelled victory celebrations for party candidate Jaya Bachchan.
Way back in 1993 SP-BSP alliance, engineered by founder of BSP Kansiram and founder of SP Mulayam Singh not only countered BJP riding on the Temple wave after demolition of Babri Masjid but came to power.
There is now realisation among the opposition parties that unless they unite it would be difficult to stop BJP from coming back to power. BJP came to power in 2014 at the Centre as 73 MPs got elected on the BJP ticket from UP, out of a total number of 80 seats.
Significantly, this time Samajwadi Party entered into alliance with smaller parties, which paid rich dividends in Gorakhpur and Phulpur. The alliance with Nishad Party and Peace Party helped in garnering support from MBCs and Muslims. An alliance of SP and BSP with smaller parties is expected to get a majority of Muslim votes.
After the Rajya Sabha polls RLD president Ajit Singh immediately took action against his party MLA who indulged in cross voting. Mayawati was critical of RLD as its MLA indulged in cross voting. Similarly, Nishad Party took action against its MLA Vijay Mishra for cross voting.
At this juncture SP national president Akhilesh Yadav, RLD President Ajit Singh and Sanjay Nishad of Nishad Party are not willing to antagonise BSP; rather they would like to keep Mayawati in good humour as they are looking for a bigger alliance to take on BJP.
After the announcement made by Mayawati regarding the alliance there is a great amount of enthusiasm in the rank and file of SP and BSP. According to leader of Opposition Ram Govind Choudhry, the stage is set for Mayawati to become PM and Akhilesh Yadav CM in the next general elections.
(IPA Service)
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