Rolling stones

Look whos rolling with it now that seat-sharing talks with the Congress are in suspended animation,the Samajwadi party is now making moves on the Left. The Congress understandably developed cold feet after Mulayam Singhs pragmatic association with former BJP veteran Kalyan Singh now off and its unilateral candidate announcements. The SP is understandably unhappy about what the Congress calls a loose alliance it wants an all-or-nothing answer and meanwhile,continues to explore options. Amar Singh,the consummate coalition-era operator,has managed to switch positions with dizzying frequency in the last few months,and it is unclear what form electoral partnerships in the state will take.

Uttar Pradesh,of course,has been long considered the national election clincher as the most populous state in India,with 80 parliamentary seats,one which has contributed the highest number of prime ministers to the country. But of late its main political victors have been out of the power game in New Delhi both the NDA and the UPA did not have either the SP or the BSP on board. Its politics is also notoriously changeable,with its fractured electorate torn between the four-cornered tug between the SP,BSP,Congress and BJP,with the two national parties now reduced to bit players. The big regional players casually shuck away alliances that have outlived their use value,and team up with erstwhile opponents. Mulayam Singh even met Mayawati a while back,the first time since 1995; and though that is unlikely to materialise in any electoral understanding anytime,it goes to prove that nothings off the table or under it when it comes to political permutations in the state. As both the state and Centre progress towards a stable two-coalition dynamic,the SPs very ideological flexibility gives it immense electoral latitude.

Whether this displays a newfound maturity on the SPs part the realisation that engineering a stable coalition in UP is essential for its survival and clout at the Centre,or just plain desperation the Kalyan Singh overture created an unwelcome flutter among its Muslim votebank,it makes the future especially unpredictable.