The two regional caste-based political giants of Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, have taken a tough posture in the seat-sharing negotiations with the Congress for the 2019 general election, telling it that any such arrangement must be at the national level in multiple states rather than being confined to one state -- UP.
The SP and the BSP have linked the proposed alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh with seat sharing and the performance of the Congress in the three poll-bound states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The SP and the BSP chiefs, by their tough stance on Sunday, clearly stated that they were going to play hard ball with the Congress on the issue of alliance ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Mayawati said that she would go for alliance only if her party got a respectable share of seats while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said "the Congress should be more accommodative and show large-heartedness for the alliance as it is a national party".
"Talks on seat-sharing for the 2019 general election will take place only after the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. There will be no talks before the state polls. The Congress has to show some magnanimity and share seats in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. We want to form an alliance with all like-minded political parties for 2019 Lok Sabha election to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party," said a senior leader of Samajwadi Party. He added: "Any formal discussion on pre-poll alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls will not happen before the elections in these three states are over."
The demands of the two regional parties are significant as they are testing the ability of the Congress to perform against the ruling BJP governments in the three states. SP leaders are of the view that the performance of the Congress in these states will be an important factor in deciding the number of seats the party will get in Uttar Pradesh.
Both the SP and the BSP have conveyed to the Congress that it will have to part with some seats in the upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh if it wants to have an alliance with them for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
BSP chief Mayawati insists that her party should get some seats in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, while the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP is keen to expand its political and social base in Madhya Pradesh, especially in the areas neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
"The two parties (SP and BSP), the Congress and the BJP are contesting against each other in all the three states. So it will be an interesting political battle and the performance of the Congress will determine how significant a role it can play in bringing together political parties against the BJP. The elections are crucial for the Congress in the state and at the national level," a SP leader said.