By Pradeep Kapoor
LUCKNOW: The manner in which Samajwadi Party announced six candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly by-elections speaks for the confidence of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Since the announcement of these six candidates was unilaterally done by Samajwadi Party the day after the Haryana polls results were out, it became clear that dominant partner in UP of INDIA bloc was not taking Congress seriously.
All is not well now in INDIA block which stands exposed with the announcement of six candidates out of total 10 assembly seats to face by-elections next month. The analysis of six candidates announced by Samajwadi Party reveals that Akhilesh Yadav has pursued the formula of PDA which helped in Lok Sabha making the party third largest in Lok Sabha after ruling BJP and main opposition Congress.
At the same time, Samajwadi Party has accommodated family members of sitting members who got elected to Lok Sabha or forced to quit for being involved in criminal case.
Samajwadi Party has announced Akhilesh Yadav’s cousin Tej Pratap Singh from Karhal, Naseem Siddiqui (wife of disqualified SP MLA Irfan Solanki) from Sisamau, Ajeet Prasad son of Ayodhya MP from Milkipur. SP has also announced Shobhawati Verma from Katehri, Mustafa Siddiqui from Phulpur and Jyoti Bind from Majwawa seat.
It would be worth mentioning here that Samajwadi Party had won five of six seats where candidates were announced. The unilateral announcement by Samajwadi Party for six seats has shocked Congress Party which was expecting five seats for the by-elections.
It may be noted that Congress Party has not won a single seat out of 10 seats going to by-elections during last 10 years due to erosion in its vote bank.
Although debacle in Haryana polls has reduced the bargaining power of Congress but it is yet to seen as how Rahul Gandhi and party leadership react to the arrogant attitude of alliance partner Samajwadi Party which announced candidates without consultation in INDIA bloc Congress leaders at the state level want to get the issue sorted out by the central leadership, meaning Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
The SP leaders are angry that in Haryana, the Congress leadership ignored SP in seat sharing negotiations despite their earlier experience in Madhya Pradesh during Lok Sabha elections. The Congress got the benefit of its alliance with SP in Lok Sabha polls but did not reciprocate it in the assembly elections in Haryana. SP leaders including Akhilesh Yadav are angry at the arrogance of the Congress. They want to dictate terms to the Congress now in the seat sharing for assembly polls. (IPA Service)