With the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD) coming together and the Bahujan Samaj Party likely to chip in to bail out the lone Congress candidate to counter the BJP in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, new political link-ups are in the offing in UP, ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls.
As per the understanding reached, it hasbeen decided that five of the eight RlD members would support the SP candidates and the rest will support Congress candidate Kapil Sibal. The Congress leader needs 5 additional first preference votes to ve elected.
Though a time-bound development now, it is seen as a major step towards building an anti-BJP alliance ahead of the UP Assembly polls in 2017.
The BSP had earlier bailed out the Harish Rawat led Congress government in Uttarakhand and its two MlAs in Madhya Pradesh will support the Congress Rajya Sabha candidate.
The SP and Congress have stepped up their efforts to keep their flocks together while the BJP and the BSP are tyo hold legislature party meetings on Thursday. The SP has held hosted series of dinner parties for its MlAs while the Congress hosted dinner for its MlAs on Wednesday.
As per the SP strategy, a sector-in-charge have been appointed for the elections. All MlAs have been asked to be in touch with him and asked not to leave lucknow without information. Shivpal Singh Yadav, Rajkishore Singh, Kamal Akhtar, Shahid Manzoor, lalai Yadav have been made the sector-in charges to keep tab on the party legislators.
The Congress held a legislature party meeting in the Assembly on Wednesday where three of the 29 MlAs were absent. The party has appointed Rajya Sabha member Gulam Nabi Azad as the Central Observer of the elections and he will be reaching lucknow on Thursday.
In the BJP camp, Union Home minister Rajnath Singh will camp in lucknow from Thursday for the next two days.
Meanwhile, BSP chief Mayawati has called all 80 MlAs in lucknow on Thursday and is expected to take a call on the 12 spare votes for Rajya Sabha polls.
In RS, a candidate needs 34 first preferential votes to get elected while 29 votes are needed for the Council. In the 403-member UP Assembly, the ruling SP has 229 MlAs, BSP 80, BJP 41, Congress 29 and the rest is prepresented by smaller parties and Independents. In RS, there are 403 voters but in the council it is 404, as the nominated member too can vote.