Congress advances talks with SP, keeps BSP door ajar

NEW DELHI: While the Samajwadi Party-Congress conversation for an alliance in the Uttar Pradesh elections are at an advanced stage, the Grand Old Party has also kept its channels open with the Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati.

It is learnt BSP Supremo Mayawati has already met a senior Congress leader in the Rajya Sabha and is likely to meet one of the Gandhi family members in the near future. These discussions in UP are being closely monitored by Priyanka Gandhi, added people in the know.

The BSP reachout to Congress, incidentally, coincides with Samajwadi Party, especially the faction led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, is pitching for an alliance with Congress.


According to reports, Yadav, even while in the thick of a family war, is planning to meet Rahul Gandhi sometime next week to try and firm up the alliance.

Mayawati and Congress too establishing a parallel line of communication behind the scene is significant at least on three counts; a significant section of Congress leadership has been preferring BSP to SP as they are wary of the unpleasant Congress-SP past record.

But Mayawati has been acting hard to get all through, prompting the Congress to engage SP for talks. It has also been a matter of debate among Congress leaders that whether a Congress-SP alliance can withstand the perceived incumbency burden of the SP regime.

While an alliance between SP and Congress has the potential to make a larger Yadav-Muslim consolidation, a BSP-Congress alliance can also lead to an equally formidable Dalit-Muslim consolidation.

The separate exploration by SP and BSP for an alliance with Congress comes at a time the Modi-led BJP is making a determined effort to wrest Uttar Pradesh.