Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

BSP-LSP alliance may upset calculatio­ns of Congress, BJP

IMPACT The tie-up with BJP rebel MP Saini’s party will have effect on poll prospects of all major political parties

- Rajesh Moudgil

CHANDIGARH: The alliance between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Loktantra Suraksha Party (LSP) of BJP’S rebel MP Rajkumar Saini, which has been forged with an eye on the combined vote bank of Dalits and backward classes (BCS) in Haryana, will have impact on the poll prospects of all major political parties in the state.

While the alliance, which was announced on Saturday after the BSP parted ways with the Indian National Lok Dal, would upset the calculatio­ns of the both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress across the state, its focus would be on the 17 assembly and two Lok Sabha reserved seats.

It is for the first time that two parties representi­ng Dalits and BCS have joined hands in the state.

Their alliance comes right ahead of parliament­ary and assembly polls in the state to be held later this year.

SEAT-SHARING

The seat-sharing between the two parties is also reflective of their well-planned and shrewd strategy. The Lok Sabha polls coming ahead of the assembly polls gives them an advantage.

Since the BSP is a national party, it has chosen to contest supremo Raj Kumar Saini the party’s MP from Kurukshetr­a. The saffron party too banks on non-jat voters, Sainis being an appreciabl­e chunk among them.

Since Saini’s LSP is still cutting its political teeth, it has agreed to contest only two LS seats.

However, in the assembly polls which will be held a few months later, the LSP has bagged a bigger share of 55 seats, with the BSP remaining content on the other 35. and performanc­e of the BSPLSP alliance.

The BSP, which started fielding its candidates in Haryana assembly polls from 1984 onwards, had come up with its best performanc­e in 2009, when its vote share was about 16 % in the Lok Sabha elections and about 7 % in assembly polls, held the same year. The party succeeded in winning one seat each in the assembly elections held in 1991 (Naraingarh), 2000 (Jagadhri), 2004 (Chhachhrau­li), 2009 (Jagadhri) and 2014 (Prithla).

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