After stumping the Congress in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is likely to join the third front, formed by the Samajwadi Party, JD(S), RJD and the Left parties, to take on the BJP and the Congress in the upcoming Rajasthan assembly elections.
While the BSP is yet to announce its position, sources within the party said it is in touch with both the Congress and the third front. It must be borne in mind that Congress leader Sachin Pilot has stressed on not having an alliance in the state.
D Raja of the CPI said the Left parties are in talks with Mayawati. "Secular democratic forces will need to come together. The primary objective is to defeat the BJP," said Raja. The Left parties have already held meetings to discuss the poll strategy, and to identify seats and suitable candidates to field.
He added that the inclusion of the Congress into the alliance cannot be fully ruled out. "As secular forces, all the parties need to be realistic to the situation and must remain accommodating," said Raja.
A Congress leader, however, said the party is not completely out of the picture. The matter could have been influenced by the fact that the Congress has not yet indicated "how to accommodate other parties", meaning how many seats it will be willing to concede. The Congress, which seems to have a fighting chance in the state, could also be unwilling to give up seats to the alliance.
If the Congress fails to be a part of the alliance in Rajasthan, then Rajasthan will be the third state where it could go solo. On Thursday, Mayawati had announced an alliance with Ajit Jogi in Chhattisgarh, forcing Congress to say that it will fight the elections alone.
In Madhya Pradesh, after months of talks that led nowhere, Mayawati announced 22 candidates including in Congress strongholds of Shivpuri and Morena. Congress not willing to yield a "respectable" number of seats was the reason behind the announcement, which took Congress leaders by surprise.
The announcements could be a huge blow for Mahagathbandhan politics ahead of a crucial election year. While the Congress has insisted on regional alliances, the Opposition parties have been demanding for better seat-sharing agreements.
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