Possibility of a Grand Alliance in Uttar Pradesh may still be a speck on the political horizon but the issue has started developing cracks in the ruling Samajwadi Party which, for the first time, is
Possibility of a Grand Alliance in Uttar Pradesh may still be a speck on the political horizon but the issue has started developing cracks in the ruling Samajwadi Party which, for the first time, is speaking in conflicting voices on the subject.
There is a clear difference of opinion between the party leaders and workers with the latter favouring a secular alliance to crush communal forces.
UP chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday, had indicated that a grand alliance could be possible in Uttar Pradesh but a few hours later, he changed his mind and announced that the Samajwadi Party would contest the 2017 polls on its own and return to power with a majority on the strength of the development work it had done. He also ruled out any truck with the BSP.
UP minister Shivpal Singh Yadav, meanwhile, promoted the idea of an alliance with “like-minded socialist forces” but said that the Samajwadi Party will continue to maintain an equal distance from the BJP and the Congress. He also rejected an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
“We are quite capable of returning to power on our own strength but if there has to be an alliance, it will be only with like-minded socialist forces,” he said on Monday.
Another senior minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity, slammed the statements and said that the party leadership was “living in a fool’s paradise”.
Explaining further, he said, “If we are not going with the Congress and the BSP, there is no other political party left in UP except the BJP. The RJD and JD(U) have no presence in UP. Our leaders refuse to understand ground realities on this issue.”
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh minister Farid Mehfooz Kidwai had suggested that a SP-BSP alliance in UP was the only way to stall the BJP march, an idea that was immediately shot down by the Samajwadi leadership and also snubbed by the BSP.
