Uttar Pradesh figures on top of the Congress agenda as the state is going to polls early next year. While a section of party leaders, including some of its MPs, feels the Samajwadi Party could be the post-poll ally of the party, the high command is yet to formulate a strategy on whether to fight the electoral battle on its own or not.
2012 is seen as the year of a “mini general election”, with over half-a-dozen states going to polls next year. Its outcome could influence the 2014 general elections. These states are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Goa and Manipur.
According to the reports reaching here from UP, BSP supremo and chief minister Mayawati is still ahead of her political adversaries — the Samajwadi Party, Congress and the BJP — who are in no position to replace her party if they fight the coming Assembly elections separately.
After the success in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress would not like to be a junior partner of any party in this electoral battle but could not maintain the growth in the last two years.
While the SP and the BSP have been backing the Manmohan Singh government unconditionally since 2004, the Congress Party had earlier helped Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav to become the chief minister by extending crucial outside support. On the other hand, the BSP and BJP have had a history of sharing power in the state.
Though the BSP came to power on its own through a sarvajan hitay policy in place of bahujan hitay, her detractors are predicting that chief minister Mayawati could face the anti-incumbency factor this time. But the reality is that a divided Opposition could help her retain power.
An anti-BSP MP pointed out that Ms Mayawati had won the last election without publicity and media coverage. She has succeeded in checking the goonda element and has a grip over the law and order situation in the state. But price rise, corruption, development and administration could go against her, he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav will release the second list of the SP candidates for the UP Assembly elections by next month.
“The party will announce its second list within 20-25 days and no changes will be carried out in the list announced earlier,” UP SP chief Akhilesh Yadav told PTI at Bareilly.