SP questions Congress' role in UP alliance after Bihar election setback

LUCKNOW : Congress poor performance in the Bihar Assembly elections has prompted its INDI Alliance partner, the Samajwadi Party(SP), to reassess the partys electoral viability ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2027. Much like Bihar, the Grand Alliance in UP is positioning itself against the BJP-led NDA, but Congress weak showing in the neighbouring state has raised concerns within the SP. Contrary voices have begun emerging from the Samajwadi Party and Congress camps in UP. Two senior leaders from each party have engaged in expressing opposing views over the INDI blocs leadership. As in Bihar, Congress remains a diminishing force in Uttar Pradesh with a dwindling vote bank, while the SP continues to rely heavily on the MuslimYadav (MY) equation as its core vote base, similar to the RJD in Bihar. This similarity has led the SP to proceed cautiously in seat-sharing negotiations for the UP Assembly elections. A senior SP leader, former minister and current MLA Ravidas Mehrotra, has sought the SP chief to take on the role of leading the INDI bloc. In response, Congress MP from Saharanpur has rushed to clarify that his leader Rahul Gandhi was the undisputed leader of the INDI Alliance. Many senior SP leaders believe that the Congress should make space for regional satraps to lead the alliance. They argue that since the SP was the second-largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha and the main opposition in Uttar Pradesh, politically the most crucial state in the country, its chief should be accepted as the leader of the INDI Alliance. According to them, Congress performance in Bihar, with a strike rate of just 10 per cent, reflected the shrinking base of the grand old party. In the 2022 UP Assembly elections, the SP had an alliance with several regional parties. Its major allies included the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which received 33 seats, and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SUBSP), which was allocated 17 seats. Among the remaining 10 seats, Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) was given five, Shivpal Yadavs party received one, Mahandal got two, and the Janwadi Party was allotted one seat. Pallavi Patel of Apna Dal (K) contested on the SP symbol, and Shivpal Yadavs party has since merged with the SP. Based on this earlier structure, the SP estimates it must leave around 5060 seats for allies, keeping roughly 340 seats for itself. An SP leader also noted that seat distribution would be based strictly on the organisational strength of each ally. Notably, Congress could secure only six of the 61 seats it contested in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly elections. On the other hand, Congress leaders, while stressing that every assembly election is different, claim that the SPCongress alliance remains intact in Uttar Pradesh. Some of them, particularly leaders like Imran Masood, reiterate that there is no alternative to Rahul Gandhi heading the INDI Alliance and suggest that the SP and its chief Akhilesh Yadav should focus on Uttar Pradesh and the upcoming state elections.