While Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati had foiled every effort by Opposition parties to broker peace with the Samajwadi Party in the past, her decision to join Rashtriya Janata Party President Lalu Prasad’s August 27 united Opposition rally has brought a much-debated question back into spotlight: Will she join the anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front being planned ahead of the 2019 general election? With leaders such as Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Pawar and Sitaram Yechury confirming their participation in the rally, a relieved Prasad predicted that Yadav and Mayawati would indeed come together before the 2019 poll “to finish off the BJP in Uttar Pradesh”.
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