Summary:
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party may not have managed to make its strong electoral presence felt in the final outcome of assembly elections the results of which were announced on Tuesday, winning just one seat in Madhya Pradesh, the elections gave the party an opportunity to work strategically in tandem with Bahujan Samaj Party . The chemistry with BSP, which in all likelihood would be SP’s alliance partner during 2019 general elections, will help the Samajwadi leadership in handling Congress during negotiations if the grand old party agrees to be a part of the mahagathbandhan in UP.In almost all public meetings during the election campaign, SP president Akhilesh Yadav had targeted Congress and had even likened it to BJP while blaming both for farm distress and black money. By the time the campaigning reached a feverish pitch in Rajasthan where polling was held on December 7, Akhilesh even went on to caution the Congress for not entering into an alliance with his party.“You did not enter into an alliance with SP in Rajasthan, think what will happen if we do the same with you in UP,” Akhilesh had said while addressing a rally in Rajasthan.Sources in the party said that the manner in which SP and BSP leaders struck an understanding and held negotiations while fielding candidates even though they did not ally with each other was a good development and would come in handy when the alliance in UP is announced formally.Senior and informed SP leaders said that their party chief was regularly in touch with BSP supremo and other senior leaders regarding the election strategy in the poll-bound states.“Though we contested the elections separately as there was no SP-BSP alliance in any of the states where elections were held, we did take into account each other’s political interests while fielding our candidates,” said a senior party leader..