Is Cong, BSP tie-up still possible in MP?
Although Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati announced the party’s for first list of candidates on 22 seats for the upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh Thursday, leaders in the Congress believe that there is still a chance the two parties can come to at an understanding for the other remaining seats in the state.
There are a total of 230 assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh. The BSP’s first list came soon after Mayawati’s announcement of a tie-up with former chief minister Ajit Jogi’s Janta Congress Chhattisgarh for the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, indicating that talks of an alliance with the Congress in that state had collapsed.
“Even though the Bahujan Samaj Party has declared its first list, talks are still on between Mayawatiji and our top leaders, including (state Congress chief) Kamal Nath ji,” the Congress media cell in-charge for Madhya Pradesh, Shobha Oza, said.
A state Congress leader, who asked not to be named, said that the seats named by the BSP were in the Bundelkhand (3), Vindhya (9), Mahakoshal (4), and GwaliorChambal (6) regions, where the Bahujan Samaj Party has some influence.
The list includes the constituencies of three of the Bahujan Samaj Party’s four sitting MLAs, he pointed out.
“We understand that Mayawati is using pressure tactics, but she understands that only by coming to an understanding with the Congress and presenting a united front against the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), will the chances of winning increase,” said the Congress leader .
“She will have to concede some things, and we will also have to give in. Had our top leadership wanted, they could have announced that we are going solo, but that has not happened,” the leader quoted above said.
Mayawati had earlier said that she would be willing to tie up with the Congress in exchange for a “respectable” number of seats in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The BSP contested 227 out of the 230 seats in the 2013 elections in Madhya Pradesh, won four, and had a vote share of 6.29%. The Congress won 58 seats with a share of 36.38%, and the BJP won 165 seats with a vote share of 44.88%.
“Both vote share and seats are coming down and nationally for the BSP. It polled 4.14% votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in the state, and did not win a single seat. The party should not overreach itself. Even if it contests all the 230 assembly seats, the party is unlikely to win more than it did in the last elections,” said political observer LS Hardeniya.
BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said: “The inducements offered by the Congress to the BSP have not yielded fruits and Kamal Nath ji’s efforts have come a cropper. The BSP has decided to go solo in memory of their founder Kanshiram ji.”
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