New Delhi: Undeterred by getting the cold shoulder from the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine, the Congress on Saturday claimed it is in the process of stitching up another kind of “Mahagathbandhan” (grand alliance) in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, befriending the breakaway group of the Samajwadi Party and building up Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan of the Bhim Army as an answer to BSP supremo Mayawati.
While Shivpal Yadav, uncle of SP President Akhilesh Yadav, represents the OBC community, the Bhim Army accounts for a sizeable number of the Scheduled Caste votes that the Congress is eying to capture after being sidelined by Mayawati-Akhilesh alliance. The Congress, which has already announced 25 candidates so far, has offered a share of 10 seats to Shivpal’s Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP) and the Bhim Sena.
A word leaked out about Shivpal holding a closed door meeting here on Thursday with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the in-charge AICC general secretary for east Uttar Pradesh, expressing concern over delay in announcing the alliance. Congress sources said the party leaders in the state are OK with the alliance with Shivpal, an old warhorse of his erstwhile
SP, but the party is delaying announcement because of the cordial relations Rahul Gandhi continues to have with Akhilesh Yadav. Even the deal with the Bhim Sena is not yet announced since the party leadership feels that will annoy Mayawati who sees rise of Chandrashkhar as the Congress projecting him to pose a direct challenge to her leadership of Dalits.
Irrespective of alliance or no alliance, Shivpal has already announced to contest from Firozabad, the seat won last time by Akshay Yadav, son of his estranged brother Ram Gopal Yadav. During the Yadav family feud in 2016, Ram Gopal had sided with Akhilesh Yadav, a former CM and son of Mulayam Singh, while Shivpal stood with Mulayam only to find the latter discarding him in favour of own son.
Only on Friday, Chandrashekhar announced to fight the election from Varanasi to challenge Prime Minister Modi “to protect Constitution and the rights of Dalit.” Had he any interest to bcome an MP or MLA, he would have chosen a reserved seat, he underlined. Mayawati is ought to be peeved since until recently the Bhim Army not only claimed it won”t contest the elections but also declared to back the SP-BSP alliance in the state and support anyone who is ready to take on BJP and fight for the Dalit rights.
On Saturday, the Congress entered into an alliance in UP with Apna Dal which was an ally of the BJP in last polls. A Congress press release says the Congress has reserved two parliamentary seats for the party — Basti and Pilibhit — as demanded by it.