RLD, JD-U may back Mayawati after polls to stall BJP

New Delhi: Having burnt their fingers with the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and Janata Dal (United) are now open to supporting Ms Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party post-polls to stop the BJP from forming the next government in Uttar Pradesh. The RLD-JD(U) combine, along with other smaller parties, has already decided to contest the polls on their own in all 403 Assembly seats.

According to sources in the two parties, the BSP was not a “communal” party and in order to stop the BJP from coming to power, they were ready to support Ms Mayawati after the elections if the situation so desired.

The sources cited how the BSP and the SP had come together in 1993 to form the government after the Babri Masjid demolition to stop “communal forces”.

In 1993, amid slogans of “Mile Mulayam Kanshiram, hawa mein ud gaye Jai Shri Ram (When Mulayam and Kanshiram come together, Jai Shri Ram vanishes),” Mulayam Singh and Ms Mayawati struck an alliance and had come back to power. After that, however, the parties had a bitter fall out.

The BSP has since then not shown any interest in forming any pre-poll alliance. Thus, the RLD-JD(U) and other parties combine hope to ally with the BSP in a post-election scenario if the parties are in a crunch situation.

The parties with which RLD has joined hands, besides JD(U), include Rashtriya Samanta Dal, Rashtriya Apna Dal, Hamari Apni Party, Rashtriya Kranti Party and Bhartiya Vanchit Samaj party. The sources said that this conglomerate of smaller parties was not ready to align with Congress as they felt betrayed by the party.

Congress reportedly offered some 20 seats to RLD chief’s son Jayant Choudhary. RLD was not prepared to accept anything short of 30 seats.

The Samajwadi Party which had refused to deal with the RLD, has also put a spanner in the much-awaited alliance with Congress giving the latter party much less seats than promised.