The Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP have kept rumour mills abuzz about a possible alliance as the exchange of pleasantries between the two parties, over Akhilesh Yadav’s defence of Mayawati following a BJP MLA’s remarks, continues. After Mayawati thanked him for supporting her, SP chief Akhilesh expressed his gratitude and posted that the bonhomie was “a good sign” for the Pichda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak (PDA) combine, which the SP has been calling its new support base, against “the divisive game of a dominant ruler”. “PDA is the future of the oppressed and deprived. We are united and will remain so,” Akhilesh said. Both the Congress and SP have been keen that BSP chief Mayawati bring her party to the INDIA bloc, and tried hard to convince her before the Lok Sabha polls. An SP leader said: “Though she was not keen to join in the past, she has now seen how the BJP has left her empty-handed. Hence, there is hope… Plus, if we are too dependent on the Congress, it will give the party more bargaining power when it comes to seats.” Officially though, Mayawati has emphatically ruled out that Akhilesh support to her implies there might be an alliance with the SP and Congress, calling them “anti-reservation” parties. The SP is upbeat after its recent Lok Sabha election performance, winning 37 of the state’s 80 seats, more than the BJP. Akhilesh, who has already tried expanding his caste base beyond Yadavs to the PDA, is looking at adding Dalit votes to give it a fighting chance in the 2027 Assembly polls. Despite its alliance with the Congress swaying a chunk of Dalit votes in its favour, Mayawati’s core support base of Jatavs still largely remains with her. Many Dalits who have seen Yadav dominance under SP rule remain wary of the party, and Akhilesh’s call seeking that the BJP MLA who called Mayawati “the most corrupt CM in the country” be tried for defamation is another attempt at shedding the anti-Dalit tag. The SP has also given pride of place since the Lok Sabha elections to its Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad, a Dalit leader from the Pasi community who won from the general seat of Faizabad (under which Ayodhya falls) – scoring a huge point for his party. Another reason on the SP-Congress’s minds may be the bypolls scheduled for 10 Assembly seats, especially those falling in western UP. “While the BSP’s numbers have drastically reduced and it has been relegated to a lone MLA, it still plays a significant role in deciding the outcome of an election with its core voter base. Hence, the BSP’s support – direct or indirect – is important. The BSP may not win on its own but a strong showing may help the BJP,” a Congress leader said. The SP and BSP had forged an alliance for the first time in 1993, securing power with Mulayam Singh Yadav becoming the CM while BSP was promised the CM’s chair half way into the tenure. Two years later, the infamous guest house incident followed, where Mayawati was held hostage and allegedly assaulted by Mulayam’s supporters. The bitterness from that incident kept the two parties apart till the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when the SP and BSP came together along with Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). Subsequently, Mayawati dropped the charges filed by her against SP leaders. But after the polls, when the BSP won 10 seats and the SP five and failed to stop the BJP juggernaut, they again parted ways. Amid resurgent talk that an alliance may again be on the cards, Mayawati referred to the guest house incident to quash the possibility.
