New Delhi:The Congress is trying to deal with the Uttar Pradesh challenge where the state unit wants a poll pact with the BSP ahead of the 2024 general elections, but old ally SP is not happy with the idea. “It will be very good if the entire opposition can come under a single umbrella of the INDIA alliance to defeat the BJP in the state. However, as far as the INDIA alliance is concerned the final decision on alliance will be taken by the high command,” AICC secretary in-charge of UP Pradeep Narwal told ETV Bharat.
The suggestion to rope in BSP chief Mayawati had come from the state leaders when Rahul and Priyanka chaired a meeting to review Lok Sabha poll preparations in Uttar Pradesh on December 18. The next day, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav sought clarification over the issue from Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge during the fourth INDIA alliance meeting on December 19.
Expressing his concern, Yadav reportedly said that BSP was not a reliable player and it would be a mistake to rope the regional party into the opposition alliance. Therein lies the challenge for the Congress strategists to convince both the UP players to stay together in the opposition alliance if somehow Mayawati decided to change her views.
On her part, Mayawati, a four-term Chief Minister, had been maintaining for a while that the BSP would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on its own and would not join either the INDIA alliance or the NDA grouping. However, soon after the INDIA alliance meeting, Mayawati issued a statement suggesting the SP should refrain from making comments on parties that were not part of the opposition alliance as it was not known when someone’s support might be needed and the situation could then become awkward. She also criticised the suspension of around 150 MPs during the recently concluded winter session of Parliament.