The confusion over who would get the Samajwadi Party’s symbol of “Cycle” or will it be frozen for the time being has delayed the announcement of the pre-poll pact between the Akhilesh-led faction of SP and the Congress. Sources in the Congress and the Akhilesh faction confirmed that an agreement between the two parties has already been worked out.
The two parties are ready with the blueprint and are likely to reveal their master plan for the coming Assembly polls once the Election Commission of
India pronounced its decision over the SP symbol, said the sources.
Interestingly, for the first time, Priyanka Gandhi has played a key role in thrashing out the alliance, said the sources, adding, an understanding between the two parties has been reached as Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav initiated on her husband’s behalf.
Both Priyanka and Dimple are set to play bigger and more intense roles in the upcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh to get a majority for the alliance, they added.
Both are not new to electoral politics. Dimple is a lawmaker from Kannauj and Priyanka has been the campaign in-charge for her mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul.
As per the formula worked out, the Akhilesh-led SP will leave 112 seats for other coalition partners, in which a lion’s share of 90 will go to the Congress while the rest will be distributed among others, including the Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD).
Though some leaders and candidates of the Congress were opposed to the announcement before Makar Sankranti, others said that very less time was left for nomination for the first phase of polling in 73 Assembly segments of western UP that will start after the notification on January 17.
The Congress has already completed the formality of selecting panel of two to five candidates for all 403 Assembly segments, except for 20 seats where they have sitting members. Both parties are keen to keep the Muslim vote bank intact at any cost to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sources said that the decision to rope in Dimple Yadav and Priyanka for campaigning has larger political connotations. Priyanka has star value and is known for her sharp political sense and ability to connect with voters. The Congress has been urging her for a larger role in politics but she has chosen to limit herself to family bastions of Rae Bareli and Amethi so for. On the other hand, Dimple Yadav comes across less politically aggressive and fits the portrait of an ideal wife and Rs bahu’ in Indian politics. She has been content with occupying the back seat, someone for whom politics may be a task at hand but family remains a priority. It is this persona which many believe attracts voters, especially women.
During 2014 lok Sabha poll, she had taken time out to venture out of her constituency to campaign for a few other seats. This time, it’s different. With her husband embroiled in a power struggle with father Mulayam Singh Yadav weeks before polls, it will be a challenge to build the momentum.
The two women leaders are supposed to shoulder the burden of electoral campaign this time around.