Will minorities bring Congress, BSP together in UP

Will minorities’ pressure bring the Congress and the BSP together in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections Congress insiders said it could work because it had worked in the Bihar and the Delhi Assembly elections against the BJP.

The BSP and the Samajwadi Party cannot come together for a number of reasons, including the incumbency factor against the ruling party and its stand in the Bihar elections. While minorities have compelled arch-rivals Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav of the RJD to fight the Bihar battle together, they had voted decisively for the AAP in the Delhi Assembly polls.

In Uttar Pradesh, minorities may not vote en block for the Mayawati-led party against the ruling Samajwadi Party if it goes alone without attracting non-dalits, OBCs and upper castes. A split in the minority vote and the Sangh Parivar’s attempts to polarise people on communal lines could help the BJP after a recent controversy over stones arriving at the disputed site in Ayodhya. However, the Congress’ stand in UP is “ekla chalo (go it alone)” so far.

If the Uttar Pradesh elections will be a do-or-die battle for the Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the Congress after their crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, it will be important for the BJP as the outcome would be crucial in the presidential election and could set the tone for the next general election.

A section of the Uttar Pradesh Congress is confident of a pre-poll alliance with the BSP, viewing this alone can pose a serious challenge before the BJP.

Top political leaders — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi — represent Uttar Pradesh in Parliament.

While chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is the Samajwadi Party’s face in this battle, Ms Mayawati is the BSP’s face but the BJP and the Congress’ face is unclear so far. The BJP had projected Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate in the Delhi elections but fought the Bihar battle without a CM face. And it is unlikely to project a leader in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry. But Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who has been made Assam BJP chief, could be its face in the Assam elections.