Lucknow: The usual bustle outside the Samajwadi Party (SP) headquarters in Lucknow, missing in recent times, has returned over the past month due to a string of political developments involving the party.
At the end of October, seven ‘angry’ BSP MLAs met the SP chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav over what they perceived was their party’s “internal agreement” with the BJP for a Rajya Sabha seat. Then, on 2 November, former Congress MPs Annu Tandon and Salim Sherwani joined the SP. This follows a number of prominent BSP leaders such as former MP Tribhuvan Dutt, former minister Ram Prasad Choudhary and former MLA Babbu Khan joining the party.
SP leaders are now claiming that in the last week alone, dozens of BSP and Congress leaders have approached their top leadership with a request to meet Akhilesh.
Things are especially worse in the BSP as the meeting between the disgruntled MLAs and Akhilesh Yadav, has created a stir within the party. BSP sources told ThePrint that several other leaders have also made up their minds to join the SP.
The Congress party is also in a similar situation. Apart from Tandon and Sherwani, several other Congress leaders are also in touch with their SP counterparts.
“Leaders of all parties, including the BSP and the Congress, are constantly approaching us to join,” the Samajwadi Party MLC Udayveer Singh told ThePrint. “But we also have to see who can make the Samajwadi Party stronger. The decision about their joining will be made according to that assessment only.
“In the last few months, over two dozen BSP leaders, including former MPs Tribhuvan Dutt and Ram Prasad Chaudhary and former MLAs Babbu Khan and C.L. Verma, who was once considered quite close to Mayawati, and former minister Raghunath Prasad Sankhwar have joined the SP,” Singh added. “Leaders of almost equal stature at the local level are also trying to join SP ranks.”
Those joining say the SP is now becoming the party that can take on the BJP. “In 2022, in UP, the direct contest will be Yogi versus Akhilesh. In such a situation, local leaders have only two strong options to choose from,” said Ankit Parihar, a Congress leader who has joined the SP.
“We cannot join the BJP because our main fight is against the BJP. Mayawati has almost become the BJP’s B Team. In such a situation, the Samajwadi Party is the only strong alternative for UP.”
For former MLA Ram Prasad Chaudhary, who recently quit the BSP to join Samajwadi Party, it has been a home-coming. He was first elected as an MLA in 1993 on a Samajwadi Party ticket but later joined the BSP. “Only the Samajwadi Party can stop the BJP in the current prevailing circumstances. This is the only option left,” he said.
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Akhilesh in WFH mode but still pulling off political coups
The Samajwadi Party becoming the first choice for rebels comes on the back of Akhilesh facing flak for not being on the ground.
During the alleged Hathras rape case too, the SP chief was criticised for failing to meet the victim’s family.
But sources in the SP told ThePrint that Akhilesh has been working from home and has been continuously interacting with the party workers.
He has specially focused on strengthening the organisation,” an SP leader close to Akhilesh told ThePrint. “He has been constantly in touch with all the prominent SP leaders through video conferencing and digital communication. Akhilesh has also orchestrated this masterful political break-in inside the BSP and Congress ranks while still sitting at home.”
According to the SP leader, it would not be surprising if some rebel BJP MLAs are also seen joining SP in the days to come.
“As far as political activism on the ground is considered, Akhilesh will hit the streets next year sometime after Holi,” he added. “This is because the right kind of atmosphere for the election is usually created in the last 7-8 months.”
Analysts say that the defections point to a revival of the SP.
“Even though there are four major political parties in UP, still in every era the real fight is witnessed between only two of them,” said Kaviraj, political analyst and Professor of Political Science at the Lucknow University.
“Before the 1990s, there used to be a direct contest between the Congress and the socialist parties. After this, the main contest started to happen between SP and BJP,” he added. “In between, there was a political tug-of-war between SP and BSP. This time, according to the currently prevailing atmosphere, the BJP versus Samajwadi Party fight is more probable.”
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