UP CM, Rahul Gandhi bond, but pact cracks remain

Lucknow: There is bonhomie at the top but total confusion on the ground. Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi may have struck a warm rapport, and they may be united in their attacks on the BJP from atop their roadshow truck, but the cadres of their parties are jostling for space, trying to outdo each other.

Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav, who held a 12-km roadshow in Agra on Friday, waving and addressing a massive, cheering crowd throughout, have not yet resolved the issue of ticket distribution. 

Worse, several Samajwadi Party candidates are contesting on Congress symbol, a confusing situation that’s apparently part of Prashant Kishore’s political strategy.

Though it has been formally announced that the SP would contest 298 seats and the Congress would get the rest 105, the SP has already released its list of 336 candidates, while the Congress has named just 68 candidates. And the process of changing candidates in both parties has become a continuous process, causing considerable confusion among cadres. Reports on Thursday claimed that the SP had consented to leave eight of the 10 Assembly seats in Rae Bareli and Amethi parliamentary constituencies for the Congress, keeping only Amethi and Unchahar for itself. 

The Congress, later in the night, released its list keeping Rae Bareli, Harchandpur, Sareni Jagdishpur and Tiloi for itself. Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls in seven phases starting February 11, but the two parties have till date failed to resolve the issue of ticket distribution.

Congress sources said that candidates on the remaining seats (Salon, Gauriganj and Bachhrawan) would be announced soon. Overlapping is, in fact, taking place in several other seats, including Bhognipur in Kanpur Dehat where both parties have fielded candidates.

A similar situation prevails in at least a dozen seats, including five in Kanpur and Barabanki districts. On some seats, SP candidates are waiting to use the Congress symbol. Anurag Bhadauria, an Akhilesh loyalist, has filed his nomination form Lucknow East on a Congress symbol.

“This is unheard of in political history, and is setting a very bad precedence. How can one party give its symbol for candidates of another party? If SP candidates, who are contesting on Congress symbol, walk out of the party after polls, who will be responsible?” asked a former UP Congress president.

Congress sources blame political strategist Prashant Kishore for the mess. “This is Prashant Kishore’s idea that wherever the Congress does not have strong candidates, it can make SP leaders contest on its symbol. This trend, if not checked immediately, will finish off the party,” said a veteran party leader.

How much this impacts the party will be apparent on March 11. For now, Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav seem happy with the massive turnout for their road shows.

Agra was apparently chosen for Friday’s roadshow to target the BJP and the BSP. The BJP holds the Agra parliamentary seat, while the BSP holds six assembly seats in the constituency. 

Addressing a gathering at the culmination of the roadshow, Mr Yadav slammed the Modi government for failing to keep its promise of “achche din”.

Mr Gandhi also criticised the demonetisation decision, and said that if the SP-Congress alliance came to power, it would work for the poor and the farmers, and change the face of Uttar Pradesh in five years.