The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has started exploring possibilities of an alliance with the Congress ahead of its meeting in Patna on June 23 to initiate an opposition mobilization initiative against the BJP. It is understood that the representative of the BSP reached the Congress headquarters and met the senior functionaries of the Congress organization and did this exercise to explore its possibilities.
Possibility of contesting elections together on Lok Sabha seats
Nothing has been officially said about this from either the BSP or the Congress, but the discussion is hot that on behalf of the BSP supremo, the Congress has been asked to consider the option of partnership in the assembly elections of the first three states Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Having said. After this, in 2024, there is talk of a possible formula for contesting elections on 40-40 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh by the BSP.
Speculation of closeness of Congress and BSP
Just a few days back, Congress National Secretary SA Sampath Kumar and BSP’s Telangana State President RS Praveen Kumar met. After this the speculation about the closeness of Congress and BSP started, but it was not taken seriously from the point of view of local equations. But, a new development in this episode took place on Monday, when a senior BSP leader from Uttar Pradesh reached Delhi and went to the Congress headquarters and met a senior party functionary.
Option to fight on 40-40 seats in Uttar Pradesh
Sources said that the BSP has first proposed an alliance to the Congress for the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. After this, asked to look into the possibilities of contesting the Lok Sabha elections together in Uttar Pradesh. According to the BSP’s proposal, if a consensus is reached, both the parties have the option of contesting elections on 40-40 Lok Sabha seats in the state. However, as of now, the Congress has not shown much interest in this offer of the BSP.
Try to create ethnic equation
It is being argued that if there is an alliance between the two parties, then caste equations also get favoured. The Muslim community has been trusting both the SP and the BSP in Uttar Pradesh and will not mind going with the Congress. Upper castes and Dalits have been associated with the Congress earlier and have formed the BSP government in Uttar Pradesh. However, no consideration has yet been initiated by the Congress on this proposal of the BSP and a response will be given only after the meeting of the opposition parties on June 23.
Congress will get a big ground to fight
According to indications from the BSP camp, Congress may consider this proposal also because many veteran leaders including party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been saying that the way forward for Congress will be found only through the party’s strength in Uttar Pradesh. In view of the failed experiment of 2017 alliance between the initiatives of opposition unity, the SP does not seem ready to give equal seats to the Congress. In such an electoral alliance of 40-40 seats with the BSP, there will be more possibilities for the Congress.
