SP-BSP would need to resolve larger issues for possible alliance:Sources

New Delhi: Despite speculations of a possible alliance between SP and BSP patty’s ahead Lok Sabha Elections are doing rounds, there are still a lot more important factors that need to be discussed before the two party’s make any additional official announcements.

A recent meeting between Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati in Delhi on Friday has also given rise to speculations that a seat-sharing agreement has been finalized between the two parties but nothing is official yet, ET reports.

Both the party’s, SP and BSP could be contesting for 37 seats each while leaving two seats each for RLD and Congress and two for other smaller parties such as Nishad Party, Krishna Patel faction of Apna Dal or any other party. But there are still larger issues that need to be resolved before any official announcement comes.

Speaking to ET, a BSP leader told that when Congress was in talks to form a possible alliance with BSP party in Madhya Pradesh, there were few conditions on seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha Elections from BSP side that did not work out, thus nothing being finalized between the two parties.

Similarly, if the two parties form an alliance, here in the case of SP and BSP, the larger issues would be who the leader would be in the 2022 assembly elections. Even the supporters of both the parties feel that the alliance may not work out till the assembly elections. In that case, transfer of votes among the two parties may become difficult.

meanwhile, both SP and BSP have already indicated that Congress has no place in their alliance and that the two parties would leave only Rae Bareli and Amethi for Congress.

According to Party sources, there are currently no discussions taking place between the Congress and these two parties as of now.

“Post the fallout of the MP elections, we have not approached either BSP or the SP,” said a senior Congress leader in Delhi. “Let them finalize their arrangement and we will take steps only after that.”

However, a large section of Congress leaders from UP believes that Congress would be better off without an alliance with BSP or SP.

“In the 1999 elections, we won 10 seats in UP. In 2004, we won 9 seats and in 2009 we won 22 seats. This was when we contested alone in the state,” said a UP-based Congress leader.

“In 2014, we could win only two. But everyone, except the BJP, lost in 2014.”

The Congress put up their candidates in both the seats and got around 20,000 votes. “Our votes get transferred to Congress but Congress voters don’t vote for us,” said an SP leader. “But the Congress can get the BJP votes and we will gain by that.”

Congress thinks that a joint opposition also gives the BJP the opportunity to polarise the elections.

“The primary reason for the BJP losing Gorakhpur and Phulpur was that they couldn’t polarise the elections in the name of BJP versus all,” said a senior UP Congress leader.