By Pradeep Kapoor
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party and Congress are busy in setting up coordination committees from state level to booth level to take on BJP in crucial Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. There has been a long meeting of senior leaders of Samajwadi Party with important leaders of the Congress. The latest status of the preparedness was reviewed and the measures to take on the BJP discussed.
Significantly enough Samajwadi Party called office-bearers from 17 Lok Sabha constituencies from where Congress candidates are contesting and got them introduced to senior leaders of Congress for better understanding.
Samajwadi Party is contesting 63 seats leaving 17 to Congress. As a strategy Samajwadi Party is concentrating on five seats won in 2019 and another 31 seats where party was placed second. It would be worth mentioning here that during 2019 Lok Sabha polls, there was alliance between Samajwadi Party and RLD. Now RLD has joined NDA.
Samajwadi Party also suffered setback when Apna Dal (K) of Pallavi Patel parted company with Akhilesh Yadav and joined hands with Asaduddin Owaisi and announced alliance with AIMIM. Out of 31 Lok Sabha seats where Samajwadi Party was placed second ,11 are eastern UP, eight in Western UP, 10 in Central Region and two in Bundelkhand
Samajwadi Party has organised training camps, cadre building small meetings with experts to educate about party’s ideology, important issues and achievements of previous governments. A team of 10 new members is being prepared for every booth.
Special focus has been given on sensitising backward communities about need for caste census and issues concerning dalits. Ambedkar Samajwadi teams are also touring these constituencies to win over the dalit voters.
Akhilesh Yadav is also playing soft Hindutva card to win over upper caste voters by the construction of big temple of Lord Shiva in Itawah and regular visits to various temples. Samajwadi Party is maintaining PDA in ticket distribution. Out of 48 tickets declared so far Samajwadi Party has given 24 to OBC, 14 to dalits, four to Muslims and rest to upper castes.
Akhilesh Yadav is also banking on his family where Yadav and Muslims decide the fate of candidates. His wife Dimple is contesting from Mainpuri, uncle Shivpal Yadav from Badaun, cousin brother Dharmendra from Azamgarh and another cousin Akshay from Firozabad.
While the SP supremo has decided not to contest Lok Sabha polls , alliance partner Congress has fielded UPCC president Ajay Rai from Varanasi for third time to take on PM Narendra Modi.
There is a suspense about candidates from Amethi and Rae Bareli. People are wondering whether Priyanka Gandhi will contest from her mother’s seat Rae Bareli or not. Mrs Sonia Gandhi who represented family seat for several terms is already in Rajya Sabha due to health issues.
Congress Party is also emphasising on the training of youth and small meetings of experts with party workers to sensitise them on important issues to go to masses before polls in their areas. There is great consolidation of muslim community behind the alliance of Samajwadi Party and Congress. The three young leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav are effectively in communication to take on the BJP in the state which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. (IPA Service)
