Hopes that the Samajwadi Party will become the government’s saviour in Parliament to balance the recalcitrant Trinamool Congress are still alive even though the Congress did not win enough seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to become a coalition partner in the state. The optimism of pro-reformers in UPA II stems from a strong expectation that UP’s youthful chief minister-designate Akhilesh Yadav will think differently. According to a senior South Block official, since the younger Yadav has grown up in a different atmosphere and studied down south and overseas, he is likely to understand the need for tough economic decisions and garner support for them in the Lok Sabha, where his party has 22 seats. No doubt, the possibility of his father getting a ministerial berth might strengthen that resolve.
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