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UP Elections 2017: Akhilesh Yadav hints at joining hands with BSP if required

The big hint about this came on Thursday from none other than Samajwadi party supremo Akhilesh Yadav who said SP was open to a tie-up with rival Bahujan Samaj Party, if the need arises.

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(L) BSP Supremo Mayawati, (R) Uttar Pradesh Chiief Minister Akhilesh Yadav
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If exit polls are to be believed, the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh may see a grand alliance of all the big non-BJP parties just as the Nitish-Lalu coalition seen in Bihar. The big hint about this came on Thursday from none other than Samajwadi party supremo Akhilesh Yadav who said SP was open to a tie-up with rival Bahujan Samaj Party, if the need arises.

Yadav's remark came amid most exit polls predicting a win for BJP in the state. While some surveys predicted a clear win for BJP, others declared a hung assembly in the state, but maintained that BJP would emerge as the single-largest party in Uttar Pradesh.

Though BSP did not announce an acceptance of Akhilesh's offer, it did not reject the possibility of an alliance either. BSP sources said that Mayawati would take a call on the tricky alliance only after results are declared on March 11. It, however, remains to be seen how well this alliance will work on the ground as SP and BSP have hugely different sets of dedicated voters.

Political observers interpreted Akhilesh's statement as a huge indication of a grand alliance. They, however, said that justifying an alliance to their support base, which share several years of antipathy with each other, may be very difficult for SP and BSP. They added that such an alliance would be unlikely last its full five year term.

Professor of Anthropology at Lucknow University, Nadeem Hasnain, also a keen political observer of UP politics, said that both Mayawati and Akhilesh would have to keep their personal political ambitions in check to successfully run the possible alliance government.

Notably, the three parties — SP, Congress and BSP, that could come together to form a grand alliance never attacked each other bitterly during earlier rounds of campaigning. Even after the SP-Congress alliance, the gathbandhan and BSP reserved their sharpest reactions only for BJP.

The SP and BSP have also allied in the past, when Mulayam Singh Yadav's second stint as chief minister lasted 18 months between 1993 and 1995. The founder-presidents of the 1992-born SP and 1984-born BSP, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kanshi Ram, had then punctured BJP's Ram Temple hype by entering into an electoral alliance and subsequently forming the government with outside support of the Congress. Those were the days when Jai Sri Ram slogans were heard in the lanes and bylanes of the country but SP and BSP's "Mile Mulayam, Kanshiram...Hawa ho gaye Jai Sri Ram" slogan dashed BJP's hopes of forming the government in UP.

Hasnain also pointed out that the last electoral alliance of SP's Mulayam and BSP's Kanshi Ram had also collapsed because their political alliance failed to percolate down to the social groups they represented. He said, "To avert any clash of interest, the leaders will have to take forward their political alliance (if it happens) to the social level and that will be a difficult thing to do because Mayawati mainly represents Dalits and SP represents OBCs whom Dalits consider to be their immediate oppressor."

Political analysts say this time the Congress, which is already in alliance with SP, will most likely ally with BSP, and SP would give outside support to BSP for formation of the government. "Mayawati is not likely to ally with anyone unless she has the assurance of becoming the Chief Minister," said a political observer, on condition of anonymity.

The indications of this future alliance came from Akhilesh, who told the BBC that although he believes that the SP and Congress combine have got the support of a majority in UP, but if needed, he was open to an alliance with the BSP. "I still think that women, farmers, and youngsters have voted heavily for the Samajwadi Party because the BJP hasn't shown any work of its own. However, we don't know about the circumstances after results. Nobody wants the President's Rule in the state. Nobody wants BJP to run the state with a remote control."

Akhilesh's comment on possibility of an alliance with Mayawati was also interpreted as sign of nervousness not just by BJP but even by some of his own colleagues. Some sections in SP, believe that such a comment could have been made after results were declared on March 11.

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