Can SP-BSP Alliance Dent BJP’s 2019 Prospects? Experts Weigh in

The SP and BSP announced their tie-up in Uttar Pradesh on 12 Jan for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, sharing 38 seats each.

Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Ever since the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) sealed an alliance in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the focus has been on how big a dent it will be able to make in the fortunes of the BJP, which won 71 seats in the state in 2014.

Once arch-rivals, the SP and BSP announced their tie-up in Uttar Pradesh on 12 January for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, sharing 38 seats each and keeping the Congress out of the alliance. The parties, however, said they would not field candidates in Amethi and Raebareli, represented by Congress President Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, a day after the alliance was announced, the Congress said it will contest in all 80 seats from the state.

Speaking to BloombergQuint, managing director and chief editor of CVoter Yashwant Deshkmukh pointed out how his polling agency has consistently been saying that if the mahagathbandhan goes ahead, then the BJP is likely to lose a big number of seats.

Meanwhile, political commentator Amitabh Tiwari outlined a few caveats when it comes to the alliance between Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati’s parties.

“[It] all depends upon the abilities of both the parties to seamlessly transfer their votes to each other… and their ability to manage the contradictions in this alliance. Mind you, they’ve been at loggerheads of each for the past 25 years… It’s going to be a huge challenge for <i>mahagathbandhan</i> to effectively transfer this theoretically and arithmetically strong alliance on to the ground.”

Amitabh Tiwari to BloombergQuint