NEW DELHI: The coming together of
Samajwadi Party and
Bahujan Samaj Party in UP poses a challenge to BJP but the party is confident of holding its own and can even consider adding a seat, top party sources said.
Party leaders agreed that the forthcoming Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll will be a tough challenge for BJP but said there were contradictions and clash of interests between BSP and SP that would play out on a larger scale when the Lok Sabha polls are held. “The antagonism between Yadavs and Dalits on the ground is too entrenched and will not go away easily,” they said while maintaining that despite the challenge of the SP-BSP front, BJP could actually add one more seat to the tally of 73 it got from UP in the polls held four years ago.
“We hope to win either
Amethi or
Rae Bareli,” said a senior leader who insisted on speaking off-record.
The interaction was held on Modi government’s completion of four years in office and saw senior leaders of the party projecting confidence that the government’s initiatives to quicken development and actions of BJP-ruled state will help it retain the support of voters.
Leaders brushed aside the suggestion that opposition’s unity efforts will make it difficult for BJP to prevail in 2019. “Outside UP, it is only in
Karnataka where such efforts can potentially create complications for us,” said a senior BJP leader.