The reported reluctance of Samajwadi Party-inspired Mahagathbandhan’s potential allies to work with it for next year’s Uttar Pradesh elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections unless Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother Shivpal Yadav on one hand and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on the other sink their differences and forge a common front is a shot in the arm for young Akhilesh. It also reflects the tenuousness of the proposed alliance in the face of multiple challenges.
The Janata Dal (United) represented by Sharad Yadav at SP’s silver jubilee celebrations and the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh reportedly made it clear that the substantial Muslim and Yadav vote banks would shy away from SP if the two factions in the party continue to fire salvoes at each other or to undercut one another. The redoubtable Lalu Yadav also reflected the same sentiment though he was less explicit. With the internecine war between Shivpal and nephew Akhilesh and the barbs that they exchanged even at the unity rally, there is a bleak future for SP unity and consequently for the proposed alliance.
It was perhaps a fallout of this undercurrent that Mulayam and Shivpal made a dash to the silver jubilee rally to stand beside Akhilesh in an effort to convince potential allies that there was perfect unity. But neither the voters in general nor the vote banks in particular are so naive as to get convinced by a make-believe show of solidarity and unity in the Samajwadi Party. RLD chief Ajit Singh is no stranger to opportunistic politics. He hit the nail on the head when he said in a newspaper interview that ego and distrust prevent parties from unifying for a common cause. The implication was clear that RLD could be counted out of the grand alliance if there was no unity within SP and the Samajwadi Party did not add value to the alliance in ample measure.
Close on the heels of the SP rally has come the report that Priyanka Gandhi, who the Congress looked upon as its new trump card in U.P. has dismissed suggestions emanating from its adviser, Prashant Kishore, that she campaign intensively in the State for three months and her mother Sonia Gandhi for 20 days. Shrewd as she is, Priyanka is wary of putting all her concentration in this election with the mystique factor being washed off by the time the Lok Sabha momentum builds up. She would rather live politically for another day by which time the Narendra Modi charisma she reckons would have worn off. With SP weakened and the Congress intrinsically weak, all eyes are on the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party both of which fancy their chances of forming the next U.P. government.
