Both BJP and Congress have begun to make strategy for 24 by-elections in the state.
The by-polls have generated more heat after the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has announced that it will contest the polls.
The Congress feels the BSP’s entry into the by-poll arena may harm its prospects of win.
The party is in touch with the BSP leaders urging them to roll back their decision to contest the by-elections.
According to sources, MPCC president Kamal Nath met Akash, nephew of BSP chief Mayawati, during his visit to Delhi on Friday.
Akash, national coordinator of the BSP, is very influential in the party. Nath is trying to convince the BSP leaders that they should not field candidates in these by-elections. Out 24 seats which are going to polls 16 belong to the Gwalior-Chambal division. If the BSP fields its candidates there will be a triangular contest in the division.
Nath is pulling out all the stops to enter the fray by coordinating with the BSP, and discussions are on.
The BJP has made a gambit by announcing that it will contest the by-polls. Through this tactic, the party will pull off benefits in case it contests the elections separately or fights it in alliance with the Congress.
The BSP has influence on certain seats in the Gwalior-Chambal division, and coordination between the Congress and the BSP may put the BJP in trouble.
During the assembly elections in 2018, the BSP and the Congress held several meetings about poll alliance, but Mayawati decided to go it alone.
Nevertheless, Mayawati blamed former chief minister Digvijaya Singh for failing to reach an alliance with the Congress, so Nath is directly holding talks with the BSP leaders.
