Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders are keeping a close tab on the results of Gorakhpur and Phulpur lok Sabha seat bypolls and also on the Rajya Sabha biennial elections, on the premise that any encouraging outcome could decide the future of Opposition unity in the next general elections.
To upset the Opposition applecart, the BJP has already got an Independent candidate to file for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections from UP. His candidature would now result in polling and if he could won with BJP support and crossing voting, then it would help in distancing the BSP and Samajwadi Party, the two regional outfits who shook hands to defeat the BJP in the RS bypolls. “Yes, we maintained a distance from both the SP and the BSP in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls. By announcing candidates at the outset we sent a strong message that we will not repeat the mistake done in 2017 Assembly poll. We would go it alone in 2019 lok Sabha elections,” asserted a senior leade and former Congress MP.
But the situation could see a change if the SP candidates supported by the BSP could win even one of the two lok Sabha seats in the bypolls. “If the SP won any of the two seats then pressure will certainly be on Congress to join hands and set a new challenge for the BJP in 2019 by fielding a joint opposition,” the leader said adding that the BJP was already apprehensive of this possibility and hence fielded a ninth candidate for the Rajya Sabha biennial polls in the sate to hurt the SP-BSP link-up. The Congress leader said that even if SP won any of the two by-polls and the BSP candidate lost the Rajya Sabha elections then the BSP chief would not tolerate her party’s defeat and part ways with the SP which would only provide relief to the BJP. Te ruling BJP wants the next general elections to be a multi-cornered contest instead of a joint opposition taking it on.