With the dust settling after elections in the four states, the focus of the Congress and the BJP is back on Uttar Pradesh, which has the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats (80). The regional players, Samajwadi Party and the BSP, are also in for giving a final shape to their future political strategy. ‘‘Samajwadi Party has also gained in Madhya Pradesh after Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. With this success, the SP will now be established as a national party,’’ Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said. Political observers here have not ruled out the possibility of the SP joining the NDA in the next general elections.The SP, which has been disillusioned with Congress’ regular salvos, is all set to push the latter into the wings. The Congress defeat in three states has put party leaders on the defensive, giving the much-awaited opportunity to SP leaders to go on the offensive in UP.Apart from this debacle, the Congress has drawn a blank in the legislative council elections in UP. The SP blame the Congress leaders for their own fate and even accuse the party for dividing secular votes in the polls. While the SP is projecting itself as a national party, the BSP which already has earned that status is not down with pro-BJP results in three states . ‘‘We have performed better in Madhya Pradesh and also opened our account in Rajasthan. It’s time for concentration in Uttar Pradesh,’’ said BSP spokesman Sudhir Goyal. While SP and BSP are avoiding coming on record in favour of Congress or the BJP, the other parties including the Left have sought a clear political strategy from the Congress vis-a-vis general elections.The Samajwadi Party, incidentally, has already snubbed the Congress in UP on a number of issues. Mulayam has forcefully turned down the Congress demand for the removal of the BJP Speaker Kesri Nath Tripathi and rejected the proposal for the formation of a coordination committee and a common minimum programme. Congress protests on Mulayam’s growing proximity to the BJP have fallen on deaf ears and rumblings in the Congress camp on the activities of the UP Vikas Parishad have gone unnoticed. ‘‘The party will now have to concentrate on Uttar Pradesh which has the maximum number of MPs in Parliament,’’ Congress spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh told The Indian Express.
