After flirting briefly, Mayawati won't back Akhilesh for UP bypolls
On Monday, Mayawati sprang a surprise by announcing that BSP won't support SP in the upcoming bypolls for Kairana parliamentary and Noorpur assembly seats. Notably, this development comes hours after she insisted that SP and BSP should stay united to defeat BJP in 2019. This move is a setback to SP, which won the Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls on the back of BSP's support.
Is the RS election defeat the reason for Mayawati's volte-face?
Mayawati's announcement comes three days after BSP candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar lost the RS polls after winning 32 of the required 37 votes. BJP snatched the seat, even though seven Congress MLAs and SP MLAs voted for Ambedkar. RLD chief Ajit Singh had also pledged his lone MLA Sahendra Singh Chauhan's support. However, Chauhan cross-voted and his vote was subsequently declared void.
But, what was Mayawati's reaction after the RS defeat?
Meanwhile, after the defeat, Mayawati had expressed satisfaction about SP's efforts of backing her candidate. However, she had later pulled up SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for displaying political immaturity. First, she claimed that she had requested the support of not seven but 10 MLAs. Second, she lamented that Akhilesh shouldn't have backed on independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap's vote for BSP's victory.
What then could be the reason for Mayawati rescinding support?
Mayawati consistently claimed that RS polls haven't affected SP-BSP relations. Her reason for ditching SP could possibly be because of the Kairana bypoll, which comprises Muslim, Gujjars, Dalits and Jats voters. If she supports SP, it would alienate the Jats. If she supports RLD, an unlikely proposition considering the RS fiasco, it would anger Muslims. So, BSP might not want to unnecessarily alienate voters.
What does this mean for SP-BSP's future ties?
Meanwhile, SP was to support BSP in April's Legislative Council elections for 12 seats. BJP will probably win 10 seats and with SP's and Congress's support, Mayawati could secure one or two. It remains to be seen if this understanding remains. Though longevity is doubtful, BSP-SP ties might continue. By pooling Yadav, Dalit and Muslim votes, they could defeat the BJP juggernaut in 2019.
