The parties might be big parties in the rest of the country, but in UP, they have no option but to settle for the third and fourth positions.
The Congress and the BJP might be big parties in the rest of the country, but in Uttar Pradesh, they have no option but to settle for the third and fourth positions. The bone of contention is who will be the third and who fourth in the elections slated for early 2012.
The Congress expects the Muslims who had voted for chief minister Mayawati and her BSP would now move in large numbers towards Mulayam Singh Yadav’s SP, and the others would vote for Congress. The BJP believes alienated Brahmins who had an alliance with Mayawati will now move towards the BJP. The Congress does not accept this thesis.
A Congress leader from the state speaking on condition of anonymity said the party would improve its position in terms of numbers. He believes it should be around 100 and that reaching the three digit figure could also be difficult.
He also said the feedback from party workers was that Hazare’s agitation has dented the Congress support base, and that much of the hard work put in by the party’s star campaigner Rahul Gandhi would be affected by this change in mood. He acknowledges that there is bitter feud between party’s legislative party leader Pramod Tiwari and president of the state unit Rita Bahuguna, and that it would affect the party’s electoral prospects.
He is confident that the Congress will have a role in the formation of government. He has no doubts that the BSP will be thrown out of office. He expects Mulayam Singh to form a coalition government with the help of the Congress.
A Delhi-based senior BJP leader said Uma Bharti, who has returned to the party fold, will be one of the prominent faces of the backward class communities. Bharti represents the Lodhs. The earlier prominent Lodh leader of the party in the state was former CM Kalyan Singh. He said that similarly, Vinay Katiyar was the face of the other major backward class group, the Kurmis.
BJP leaders, in private conversation, admit that the party will have to settle for the third position and the battle for the UP crown is between the BSP and the SP. The only claim the BJP makes is that it will do better than the Congress, and push Congress to the fourth position.
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