Birds of a feather flock together and they form a crew when flocks of different species join together. What makes a crew interesting though is when they reject a flock to join the other, a flock that looks, feels and acts in almost the same manner as the rest of the birds in the crew. This is precisely what has taken place in Uttar Pradesh today. The secular Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) led by Akhilesh Yadav have decided to join hands ahead of the Kairana by-polls. The most interesting point which emerged out of this coalition is that the two parties have mutually decided to keep Rahul Gandhi led Congress party out of this ‘secular’ coalition. This snub to Congress party at the state level has proven the disregard of the alleged third front leaders with respect to Rahul Gandhi. The lack of trust and faith in his leadership has already been highlighted when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee decided to lead the Third Front for the 2019 elections. She also explicitly mentioned that Rahul Gandhi was not suited for leading the Third Front in 2019, a sentiment which has been echoed by SP and BSP in UP, ahead of the scheduled Kairana bypolls.
Kairana had been in national news owing to the exodus of Hindu families due to the terror of Islamic radicals. The gangsters and criminals harassed the women and general population on a daily basis. Extortion and other crimes too were the order of the day. This situation was highlighted by Kairana MP Hukum Singh (BJP) who time and again, raised the issues faced by the Hindu families and girls from Kairana. Hukum Singh died on 3rd February 2018 owing to medical complications and hence the Kairana seat is up again for grabs. SP and BSP are fighting with their back against the wall, BSP had almost been wiped out from the political scene in UP after the Lok Sabha elections. SP too had fared badly and was in a pitiable state. With a lack of options and facing a wipe out, the two parties decided to fight the Gorakhpur and Phulpur together. They were supported by the Congress and Communist parties who did not field candidates in the by-polls. BJP lost both the seats which were considered to be strongholds of CM Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Emboldened by this win, the SP and BSP have once again decided to fight the upcoming Kairana elections in coalition but with a new twist. Their knowledge and experience have led them to believe that Rahul Gandhi led Congress party is powerless in UP. They do not want the Congress Party and Rahul Gandhi to reap the benefits of their hard work in UP, something which Congress party leadership is expert in doing. The snub given to Congress party shows the pitiable state it has now been reduced to in India where even regional parties are comfortable with leaving Congress out.
The snub given to a national party by a regional party for pre-poll alliance might not be the first one but is definitely the biggest one. Another nightmare for Congress party and a proof of its falling grace in the country. 2019 Lok Sabha elections are not too far away and with Mamata Banerjee leading the alleged third front it might be the end of Congress party as we know it today. SP leaders such as Abu Azmi have openly revolted against Congress party by terming them as an unreliable party. In a letter addressed to SP President Akhilesh Yadav, Abu Azmi has requested not to campaign for Congress candidates in Karnataka. The present is tense for Congress and the future looks even bleaker. The SP and BSP snub is just the beginning. A snub from every party before every election is what the Congress might get in the future.
