Congress-SP deal in UP: An alliance born of anxiety

While the tie-up is expecting a rich seat yield in Uttar Pradesh, certain fault lines have surfaced

The decision of the Samajwadi Party (SP) to seal an alliance with the Congress was a “pledge” that Akhilesh Yadav felt he had to “redeem at all costs”, an SP official and a key member of Team Akhilesh said.

He said the Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister (CM), who is also SP president, had made the “promise” to Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi when his party was in the throes of a crisis, fuelled by his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, in concert with Mulayam’s brother Shivpal Singh Yadav, and Amar Singh. “It appeared as though we would lose the SP’s cycle