BJP sees itself as largest bloc; right camp imploding, says Samajwadi Party

LUCKNOW: The SP-Congress alliance talks are not bothering BJP. The saffron party believes it will still be the largest bloc after the UP elections.

“It is a positive for us that other parties are either working out an alliance like SP and Congress or appealing for votes like BSP. This shows that BJP is ahead in the UP race. We will drive home this point through our senior-most leaders in upcoming rallies,” a senior UP BJP leader told ET. He said the BSP would be real loser as Muslim votes may consolidate in the favour of SP-Congress alliance.

“This is not a Mahagathbandan like Bihar where caste arithmetic was stacked against us. Congress may increase its seats a bit, but the SP will not benefit from it,” another BJP leader said. An SP leader close to Akhilesh said BJP is imploding given internal protests after the first list of candidates.

SK Dwivedi, Professor of Political Science at Lucknow University, told ET that there were high chances of a “hung assembly” in UP, but BJP might still be the single largest party after the polls.

Political analyst Badri Narayan also predicted a strong triangular fight. “The alliance means loss for BSP and gain for BJP. I think BJP’s prospects are brighter.”