Samajwadi Party crisis queers pitch for Mayawati
Akhilesh has said that his friendship with the Congress would continue, the Congress has made it clear that the alliance is over for them.
Lucknow: As the Samajwadi Party inches towards a formal split, it is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that is more worried.
According to BSP sources, Ms Mayawati is now undecided about joining hands with SP led by Akhilesh Yadav or going with the Shivpal Yadav-led Samajwadi Secular Morcha.
Ms Mayawati, sources said, was more inclined towards SP since Akhilesh himself had made the first move by suggesting that a grand alliance with the BSP would help in stalling the BJP’s victory march.
“But if the Samajwadi Secular Morcha is formed with Mulayam Singh as its head, it would render any other alliance meaningless. Besides, Ms Mayawati is still not comfortable with Mr Mulayam and vice versa though she is sympathetic to Mr Shivpal Yadav,” said a party leader.
The BSP president, at a party meeting last month, has told party workers that she would assess the ground support for the SP and Congress before taking the final decision regarding an alliance. The BSP, after facing serious reverses in the Lok Sabha and then the UP Assembly elections, finally seemed prepared for an alliance to regain lost glory when Ms Mayawati showed willingness joining hands with secular parties.
Another development that has further queered the pitch for the BSP is the Congress decision to part ways with SP for the municipal elections in the state.
Though Akhilesh has said that his friendship with the Congress would continue, the Congress has made it clear that the alliance is over for them.
In any case, the Mulayam faction of SP will not join hands with the Congress though the Akhilesh faction is willing.