Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): In the purview of the upcoming Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh, the bigger political parties, including Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), have said that they would not be forming alliances with any other bigger parties. They had, however, kept the doors open to alliance with smaller parties. But no small party in UP has approached either Congress or BSP. In such circumstances, the parties are saying that they will contest the elections alone, without any alliances.
On the other hand the political circles in Uttar Pradesh are strongly predicting an alliance between the two, especially after Priyanka Gandhi attended the funeral of BSP Supremo Mayawati. Priyanka Gandhi could also be heard telling Mayawati that 'we shall meet again' in a video that surfaced during her visit to the funeral. Additionally, according to the sources, the General Secretary of BSP has recently had a meeting with the prominent leaders from Congress, which further strengthens the possibility of the alliance.
Read: Priyanka Gandhi meets Mayawati, offers condolences for her mother's death
However, both the parties have denied any such possibilities. Dr. Umashankar Pandey, spokesperson of the UP Congress Committee, said, "Our party chief Priyanka Gandhi has already said that no alliances would be formed in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming elections. Her presence at the funeral of Mayawati's late mother had no political intentions. It was out of humanity and the spirit of being with each other in difficult times."
Quoting former prime minister and late BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he added, "'We shouldn't have personal rivalry because of political rivalry', and so, the Congress stands with everyone in their difficult times despite the political indifference."
Faizan Khan, the UP BSP spokesperson, also denied the possibility of an alliance during a phone call interview with ETV Bharat. He said that the circumstances under which Gandhi and Mayawati met have no political implications. He said that Mayawati has already denied any potential alliances, and that there should be no reason to hatch out a strategy from a non-political meeting between two political leaders.
Past and present dynamics of the parties
Considering the history of BSP and Congress in UP, an alliance was formed between them during the 2017 Assembly Elections. However, the partnership had not yielded good results - BSP had won 47 seats, while Congress had won 7 seats, two out of which have currently left the party. In the last Assembly elections in Rajasthan also, BSP had reportedly shown support for Congress.
With Punjab in line for elections in 2022 as well, the preparations there are also in full swing. What's peculiar is that in Punjab, where Congress is the current ruling party, BSP shall be contesting in alliance with Akali Dal against Congress. This might be an issue if at all the alliance between BSP and Congress is being contemplated in UP. However, if they anyway go forward with this alliance in UP, it won't be the first time that two political parties are contesting together in one state and against each other in another one. One such example could be that of Maharashtra's Shiv Sena and Congress. These two parties are at loggerheads otherwise. But with Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra, some Congress leaders are also there with the party. Similarly, Congress had formed an alliance with the leftist parties in West Bengal, but the same parties were against Congress in UP.
Samajwadi Party's take on the alliance
When asked about the possible impact of the Congress-BSP alliance in UP, spokesperson of UP Samajwadi party Fakhrul Hasan Chaand said, "What will be the benefit to both these parties even if the alliance is formed? The only strong contestant in UP against BJP is Samajwadi Party. We have already formed our alliance with the masses. It doesn't matter who forms an alliance with whom now. We are going to win these elections anyway." He also added that all the disappointed leaders from BJP are also joining his party, further adding to the party's strength.
