The rapidly growing bonhomie between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, apparently, has a short shelf life and may not last beyond October.
Both parties are acutely aware of the fact that this friendship could cost them dear in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and are ,therefore, trying to best to extract the maximum from each other before reality begins to dawn.
The Samajwadi Party, according to sources, is keen to persuade the centre form getting additional financial assistance for the development of Uttar Pradesh and has succeeded to a large extent. The Planning Commission of India, on Wednesday, approved UP’s annual plan outlay of a whopping `57,000 crores for 2012-13.
“Since the main poll plank of the Samajwadi Party was development, we need to ensure maximum development in the state before the next Lok Sabha polls son that the people can have faith in us. This will not be possible without central support and that is what we are aiming at. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav is determined to ensure the success of his son Akhilesh,” said a veteran Samajwadi leader.
Party sources admit that they have been asked not to make any adverse comments regarding the Congress “for the time being”.
“We have been asked to keep Congressmen in good humor and comply with the requests of local party leaders. Our leaders want that the state government should get maximum benefit from the centre and the recent central package of `45,000 crore is proof of this,” said an SP minister.
The Samajwadis, meanwhile, are also aware that they cannot pull the Congress friendship beyond a point.
“It will be like befriending an enemy. Both, SP and Congress are eyeing the same vote bank — Muslims — for the LS polls and cannot be seen shaking hands. We will have to run down each other in order to woo Muslim votes,” said the SP minister.
The Congress, on the other hand, is also putting up a show of camaraderie because it needs to secure itself against the onslaughts from the Trinamul Congress and also needs SP support for the presidential and vice-presidential polls.
“We are willing to pay the price for SP support at the centre at this juncture but once this storm tides over, we will return to our confrontational position because SP will be our main target for the Lok Sabha polls,” said an AICC functionary.
Both parties, for the time being, are playing the game of friendship but only till their politics allows them to put up the show.