UP polls: Mulayam Singh Yadav may still be calling the shots

New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party’s move to put the Congress on top of the ladder and then push it down is covered with the fingerprints of wily party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Deception has always been the hallmark of Mulayam Singh Yadav, particularly when it came to politics. The SP has come up with various explanations for refusing some crucial Congress demands, including reducing its offer from103 seats to 85.

Mulayam Singh Yadav had always been against any tie-up with the Congress and never allowed the party to grow in the state. He preferred to keep the fight between himself and BSP chief Mayawati. It was learnt that Akhilesh Yadav was keen for an alliance with the Congress till “an invisible hand” made him change his mind on Friday. Akhilesh Yadav was reportedly cautioned that the alliance would benefit the Congress more than the SP.

Decimated and reduced to nothing for over two decades in Uttar Pradesh, the alliance could have given the Congress a new lease of life. The party, which lacked a credible face in the state, would have benefited from Akhilesh Yadav’s popularity and clean image to reach out to voters.

The upper caste, which had deserted the Congress, would have returned and the party could also have made inroads into the Yadav vote bank. The alliance could also have witnessed the return of Muslims to the Congress fold, after they had moved away to back the SP and the BSP. The alliance could also have help the Congress to reach out to dalits and most backward community (MBC).

In this, the Congress smelt the chance to do a Bihar, where it increased it’s tally from a mere five seats to 27 by latching onto the JD(U)-RJD bandwagon during the last Assembly polls in the state.