Will Paswan’s party pit itself against BJP in UP?

NEW DELHI, OCT 23: The BJP and Union Communications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan's new party to be launched in November may end up fighting e...

NEW DELHI, OCT 23: The BJP and Union Communications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s new party to be launched in November may end up fighting each other in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for late next year.

His party welcomes a tie-up with the BJP and other partners of the National Democratic Alliance. "But if that does not materialise, we will fight the elections on our own strength," he said today.

"After all ours will be a new party and we would like to demonstrate our strength though our commitment to the NDA remains. Didn’t the Samata Party put up candidates against the BJP in the Delhi Assembly elections?" he said.

With the possibility of Paswan pitting his party against the NDA, the BJP will in effect have to do business with two Janata Dal groups, the other being the Sharad Yadav-led JD (United).

Paswan, who declared that a patch-up with the Sharad Yadav group, was now a closed chapter, said that his party would not practise "negative" politics like the Bahujan Samaj Party or the Samajwadi Party.

Asked about his party’s chances in the background of the BSP also banking on the Dalit vote, he said that a "national leader" would stand a better chance of mobilising people’s support. Moreover, it was his perception that no partycould perform well if it banked on the support of any single caste or community.

"You have take into confidence all sections which the SP or the BSP hasn’t done in Uttar Pradesh," he said.

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Besides the possible accretion of strength from some smaller parties in the State, what Paswan is looking at is the non-Yadav OBC constituency like the Rajputs and the Kushwahas and other castes in Annexure 1 of the Mandal Commission report. Paswan feels that the Rajputs and the Kushwahas both in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar lacked a credible leadership.

Paswan made light of the claim rival Sharad Yadav group that he had the support of only two MPs besides himself. "Let them say how many do they have.How many MPs attended last month’s Lucknow rally organised by Sharad Yadav ?" he asked.