The alliance for LS poll between Congress and the Samajwadi Party, partners in INDIA Bloc, just ahead of the final leg of Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra, has cut into the plans of the BJP, which was aiming for a clean sweep of all 80 seats. A report by Mudit Mathur
Despite BJP’s public posturing predicting a clean sweep for the party in Lok Sabha election from the soil of Lord Rama and Krishna in UP, worry lines have begun to appear within the saffron party following a last-minute poll tie-up between the BJP and the SP. Uttar Pradedh is considered the most crucial state politically, as it sends a big chunk of 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
The pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, partners in the India Alliance, just ahead of the final leg of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, has upset the apple cart of the BJP, which was aiming for a clean sweep of all 80 seats. The development comes after the BJP had gained a significant advantage following the high-voltage mega event of the consecration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya –– a central theme of the BJP’s campaign to sway the majority Hindu votes in its favour.
Uttar Pradesh, a politically sensitive state with a rich plurality intertwined in its cultural heritage, boasts of unmatched patriotic participation and sacrifices during the country’s freedom struggle. Eminent leaders from various religious communities have left indelible imprints of their immortal legacies on national politics, impossible to be erased
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav demonstrated his political acumen to forge an alliance with Congress party and join hands with Rahul Gandhi in the last leg of his “Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra” at Agra enroute to Rajasthan. After the deal was sealed, workers from both the Congress and Samajwadi Party raised slogans in support of Yadav and Gandhi
The SP’s wisdom to challenge the BJP unitedly was spurred by compelling ground realities, and its decision to uphold the integrity of the minority vote base. This base has been gradually shifting away from regional parties due to the changing nature of politics at the national level. The members of the minority community which have endured the ‘bulldozer justice,’ found themselves helpless as no one stepped forward to rescue or protest for them at the sites when the buildings were being razed to ground.
The minorities are not as content or confident as they once were under Akhilesh’s father Mulayam Singh Yadav, affectionately known as ‘Mulla Mulayam’ among them. Several Muslim figures, such as Azam Khan and Saleem Sherwani, have voiced their frustrations, feeling neglected by the party during times of need.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi during his “Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra” pitched for caste census to save the constitution for securing goals of social, economic and political justice. He stressed the need for unitedly fighting against oppressive Modi rule for its unfair policies, inequitable concentration of national wealth and resources in select hands by depriving poor and downtrodden – who constitute the majority population in our democracy.
Addressing a public meeting after participating in Nyay Yatra with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav said, “Agra city is well-known throughout the world. I am happy that they have started with the “Mohabbat ki Dukan” and this entire city is a city of love.” “In the coming days, the biggest challenge is to save the democracy and the constitution, and to fulfil the dream of Dr BR Ambedkar, that has been ruined by BJP,” said Yadav even as he raised the slogan “BJP hatao, desh bachao.”
Earlier, announcing the alliance with Congress to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the Congress will contest 17 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress will field its candidates in Raebareli, Amethi, Kanpur Nagar, Fatehpur Sikri, Bansgaon, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Maharajganj, Varanasi, Amroha, Jhansi, Bulandshahar, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Sitapur, Barabanki and Deoria. On the rest of the seats, SP and other partners of the alliance will field their candidates.
