SP in driver’s seat, fight on for BJP, BSP

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s show of strength that has catapulted him once again to the driver’s seat has put UP’s strife-torn but ruling Samajwadi Party once again in the reckoning for power which means the BJP will have to muster all its resources to ward off the might of its rivals —the SP and BSP.

When Akhilesh’s expulsion was announced by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday evening, the BJP was sniffing a chance.

This was because the SP’s chances would clearly have been over at the hustings if the party had split. It would have also made the UP elections a direct contest between the BJP and BSP. But no longer.

Akhilesh’s swift return to the party on Saturday after it became clear that he enjoyed the support of the overwhelming number of MLAs means that the young, popular CM can push forward for a second term in power.

Observers feel the young CM enjoys considerable goodwill due to his clean image and opposition to giving tickets to candidates with criminal records. There are also indications that his supporters may formally push for the top job in the SP for him which will mean the end of the dominance of his father Mulayam Singh in the party.

If Akhilesh has his way completely or even overwhelmingly in the selection of his party's candidates, the his appeal could mean a strong consolidation of both Muslim and Yadav votes along with votes of a section of non-Yadav OBCs and even the upper caste-dominated middle class who see Akhilesh as a progressive face of his party.

It will also halt any possible complete exodus of Muslims to the BSP. Had the two SP factions contested the elections separately, BSP supremo Mayawati would have emerged as the only leader capable of stopping the BJP.

But now, the SP will be fancying its chances. If a united SP under Akhilesh forges a strong alliance with the Congress and Ajit Singh’s Jat-dominated RLD, the combined vote arithmetic could also prove to be the deciding factor. Such an alliance is bound to test both the BSP and BJP severely.

If Akhilesh manages to return his party to power, he will become the undisputed leader of his party with the stamp of an electoral victory. On the other hand, if he stumbles, his rivals like Shivpal Yadav in the party will gain and the clamour for Mulayam Singh Yadav to steer the party again will grow. The stakes are high.