Why Congress Is Turning To Smaller Parties Ahead Of UP Polls

The Congress and Samajwadi Party - perpetually in an on again off again relationship - are now bickering over seat share in Uttar Pradesh. Reason - the Congress's ambition to stop playing second fiddle to Akhilesh Yadav's party and to stitch a rainbow coalition of smaller parties, taking a page out of the BJP handbook. 

Coalitions with smaller parties - mostly non-Yadav OBCs and Dalit-focused smaller parties -- in Uttar Pradesh have been the secret of the BJP's massive success in 2017 and 2022.  It provided the party the key to caste engineering that provided huge dividends. 

During the last election, the BJP had stitched together a coalition with smaller parties like the Nishad Party, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and a few others. 

It won 255 seats, which, while lower than its 2017 tally of 312, was still a massive majority.

The Congress appears to have learnt its lesson well. The party is now demanding 200 of the state's 403  seats -- mostly to distribute to smaller parties that are ready to join hands. 

Sources indicated that parties including Swami Prasad Maurya's group and the Nishad Party are in contact with the Congress. During the 2022 assembly elections, Swami Prasad Maurya quit the BJP to contest on a Samajwadi Party ticket from Fazilnagar (where he lost), while the Nishad Party contested in alliance with the BJP, winning six seats.   

On Saturday, Swami Prasad Maurya met with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in Delhi, sparking intense speculation that he might soon join hands with the Congress. Sources also indicated that the Nishad Party is also in contact with the Congress. 

Essentially, the Congress feels it needs to break out of the "younger brother" role in Uttar Pradesh, indicated sources in the party. Many leaders believe that the party is at the forefront of the battle against the BJP -- be it the last general election or issues like vote theft -- and is taking on the BJP directly.

Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam has been issuing repeated ultimatums, demanding that matters be finalised quickly. 

Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav has hit back at Congress leaders' statements, countering by citing ground realities and organisational strength to exert its own pressure. 

According to sources, the Congress is considering forming a committee in the coming days to handle seat-sharing negotiations, which may include senior state leaders for seat sharing and other dialogue with Samajwadi party for UP elections.