The Bahujan Samaj Party support to the Congress in Uttarakhand was apparently a move designed by the party to save itself rather than the Harish Rawat government.
The Bahujan Samaj Party support to the Congress in Uttarakhand was apparently a move designed by the party to save itself rather than the Harish Rawat government.
According to BSP sources, there were clear indications that one of the two party MLAs in Uttarakhand would not go with BJP. The MLA, Karim Ansari, had reportedly conveyed his reservations to senior BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui who was sent to Uttarakhand from Lucknow.
The BSP has always been in a fragile situation in states other than Uttar Pradesh and its legislators have no qualms about crossing over to greener pastures at the slightest provocation.
With UP elections round the corner, the BSP apparently could not afford a split in the ranks in the neighbouring Uttarakhand state.
“The UP elections are extremely crucial for us and Behenji (Ms Mayawati) does not wish to make even the smallest wrong move. We knew the party would split if we went with the BJP so it was decided that supporting the Congress would be a safer bet,” said a party functionary in Lucknow on Wednesday.
Besides, saving its own house, the BSP was also keen to end its political isolation in Lucknow as well as in Delhi.
Since the Lok Sabha elections in which the BSP faced a rout, the party has been completely isolated at the state as well as national level.
The BJP has already been aggressively campaigning to woo dalits which means a frontal attack on the BSP vote base. The BJP is confident of forming the next government in UP on its own and certainly does not require BSP support at the Centre.
The Congress too, has also been working on the dalit angle while the Samajwadi Party shares no love lost with the BSP. In such a situation, the BSP has become politically isolated and even irrelevant to an extent in the state.
By supporting the Congress in Uttarakhand, the BSP is desperately trying to position itself as a secular alternative in UP but this may not work since the party has formed government thrice in UP with BJP support and it would take more than one Uttarakhand episode for the party to win the confidence of Muslims.
However, the BSP may now get Congress support in Parliament on crucial issues and may have one less enemy in Uttar Pradesh
