LUCKNOW: Handing out a major jolt to Rahul Gandhi’s intentions of being a part of SP-BSP alliance for 2019 big battle, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav claimed on Wednesday that the anti-BJP alliance would be without Congress in Uttar Pradesh.
However, the SP chief appreciated the efforts of Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao for trying to stitch up a non-Congress, non-BJP third front-- Federal Front -- in the run up to upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The statement of the SP chief over UP alliance is being seen in the political circles as an outburst of Akhilesh’s displeasure with the Congress for not inducting the sole SP MLA in Mdahya Pradesh cabinet headed by Kamalnath.
Notably, SP and BSP had committed support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to help grand old party touch the majority mark in the recently concluded state assembly elections.. While SP has one MLA in MP, it failed to open account in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
“By keeping our lone MLA out of the MP cabinet, Congress has made our path easier in UP. They have cleared our way in Uttar Pradesh,” said Akhilesh here on Wednesday.
The major political development comes at a time when BSP chief Mayawati has reportedly made it already clear that her party would go it alone in Madhya Pradesh during Lok Sabha elections next year.
All praise for KCR, Akhilesh said that he backed the idea of a third (anti-BJP, anti-Congress) front for 2019 and that he would visit Hyderabad after January 6 to meet KCR in that connection.
There are reports that the BSP is likely to make a big announcement about the 2019 strategy on January 15, which happens to be Mayawati's birthday.
However, in UP, the two regional satraps are in the final stages of firming up an anti-BJP alliance with RLD also a part of it. The highly placed sources claim that the seat-sharing formula, which both SP and BSP have agreed to in UP, provides 38 seats to BSP, 37 to SP and three to Ajit Singh’s RLD to contest leaving two seats -- Amethi and Rae Bareli – the Congress stronghold and parliamentary constituencies respectively of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
While after Akhilesh’s statement, the road for Congress would not be that easy in UP. But further realignment of political forces can not be ruled out. In fact, estrange uncle of Akhilesh – Shivpal Yadav , has expressed his willingness to forge an alliance with the Congress against the BJP in UP. Shivpal after parting ways with the SP, had floated Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP) recently. He had even announced to field candidates on all 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP except the one where Mulayam Singh Yadav would be contesting from.
Moreover, Akhilesh’s statement has come in consonance of the SP patriarch’s ideology as he has always disfavoured any truck with Congress, though he has never fielded candidates against the Gandhis.
Significantly, the Congress has only two seats – Rae Bareli and Amethi – in Uttar Pradesh. In 1995, the Congress tied up with the BSP but the alliance failed to get a majority in the state. Again in 2017, Congress allied with the SP which also failed resulting in decimation of both Congress and SP.