Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, anxious to consolidate the gains of supporting the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), is taking no chances.
The former UP chief minister, sources say, plans to start a mass campaign to tie up new pockets of support and to retain the old ones. Yadav’s intensive tour of Uttar Pradesh starts next month.
It’s also crucial that he ensures that the Muslims, considered favourably disposed to his party, are not persuaded to believe that the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement is anti-Muslim and anti-Islam. His party had extended support to the UPA government after the Left withdrew support over the deal.
A large section of Muslims, especially the poorer ones, have already defected to Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The Muslims will assess which party will be the most efficacious in keeping the BJP out of power at the Centre and will most likely vote for it. Yadav is worried about the erosion of his vote share in the community.
“Leaders at the district level have been asked to provide dates so that Yadav can hold interactive sessions with local workers,” said a party leader. With Mayawati trying to project the nuclear deal with the US as “anti-Muslim”, Yadav will seek to explain the deal’s advantages.
During 1988-89, Yadav had undertaken a Kranti Yatra across UP targeting the Congress. He had used a motorised ‘rath’ (chariot) gifted to him by late deputy prime minister Devi Lal.
Later in 2001, his son Akhilesh had carried out a similar road tour against the “misrule” of the BJP. But SP sources said they were not sure whether Yadav would name his coming tour as a ‘yatra’ and whether he would again ride a motorised ‘rath’.
Yadav’s decision is bound to impact his party’s ambitions to participate in the central government, though there is no unanimity on this issue.
Yadav wants to remain in Lucknow, his party’s political capital, rather than staying in New Delhi. The former chief minister has told his partymen that he would prefer to stay in UP and concentrate on the Lok Sabha elections, due shortly.
He wants the workers to target 60 of the 80 seats in the state, hoping they can win about 50 of these. He has told the Congress he will be ready to let the party contest 40 seats.
During last year’s Assembly elections, the number of SP MLAs was reduced to 96, down from the 146 in the previous Assembly polls. Mayawati’s BSP had romped home with 207 seats.
SP sources said the party leaders were hopeful of a quick seat-sharing agreement with the Congress before opening their cards on joining the Manmohan Singh government.
“But this obviously did not happen. Once in the government, we cannot indulge in a bare knuckle bargain on seat-sharing. It is, therefore, important for the SP to have an understanding with the Congress on the issue before it moves ahead with anything else,” said a party leader.
