Faced with the tough challenge of fighting the Bharatiya Janata Party which is resurgent after winning three state assembly elections, Samajwadi Party is scouting for alliance with small parties in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The focus of the SP, seeking to expand its base, will remain on PDA (Pichhada, Dalit, Alpsankhyak).
The strategy of alliance with small parties had paid good dividends to the SP in the 2022 UP assembly elections. It had forged a coalition with some Other Backward Classes-based smaller parties, including Rashtriya Lok Dal, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, Mahan Dal, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) and Janwadi Socialist Party (now renamed as Jan Janwadi Party). The SP had won 111 seats out of the state’s total 403 seats in the UP assembly. With this umbrella coalition, the vote share of the SP also increased to 32 per cent from 21.82 per cent in the 2017 assembly polls, when it had won only 47 seats while contesting in alliance with the Congress.
The SP is a key constituent of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) formed by a slew of opposition parties from across the country to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Certain bigger parties of the opposition’s INDIA bloc are undermining the strength of the SP by calling it a party having base in UP only. Hence the SP is increasing its strength by joining hands with smaller parties. The SP leaders are in touch with Hanuman Beniwal of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) in Rajasthan. Akhilesh is working to develop the PDA alliance. If this formula increases the seats of SP in Lok Sabha elections, it will strengthen the position of Akhilesh among INDIA bloc leaders,” a SP leader said.
SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, “Akhilesh Yadav is bringing together parties having similar ideologies. These are new parties which have their own following. Nothing has been decided about alliance in Lok Sabha polls but support of these parties will be helpful in the elections to defeat the BJP.”
Akhilesh Yadav, on December 4, had inaugurated the office of the National Equal Party (NEP) in Varanasi, founded by Shashi Pratap Singh, a Rajbhar (OBC) leader who was earlier associated with SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar but parted company last year.
In November, Akhilesh Yadav addressed a rally in Haryana’s Jind town, organised by independent legislator Balraj Kundu, who has formed a new political outfit – Haryana Jansewak Party (HJP). Kundu represents Meham in the Haryana assembly. Kundu belongs to the Jat community listed in the OBC category in UP which has significant presence in western UP districts.
Last month, Akhilesh was the chief guest at a convention of the Suheldeo Swabhiman Party (SSP) founded by Mahendra Rajbhar, a former associate of Om Prakash Rajbhar, in Lucknow. After breaking his ties with Om Prakash Rajbhar, Mahendra floated his own outfit. Rajbhar was an SP ally in the 2022 UP polls but later he walked out of the alliance and joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance camp earlier this year.
In the Ghosi assembly bypoll held in September last, when Om Prakash Rajbhar was canvassing for the BJP candidate, Mahendra extended his support to the SP nominee who won the election.
At his party’s convention, Mahendra claimed the Rajbhar community has hopes to get respect and their due rights from Akhilesh only, who too acknowledged Rajbhars’ contribution to the victory of his party in the Ghosi bypoll.
Also, Akhilesh has once again joined hands with Mahan Dal’s Keshav Dev Maurya, who had walked out of the SP-led alliance after the 2022 polls and later started canvassing for the Bahujan Samaj Party.
During the recent Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, Maurya campaigned for the SP candidates. However, their alliance could not win any seat there. In MP’s Jatara constituency, SP candidate RR Bansal got only 15,060 votes. He had got 26,600 votes in 2018 when he had contested separately on the MD ticket.
