By Soon once the province election results came out, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav created it clear that for the 2022 state Assembly elections, his party wouldn’t type alliance with any major party and would traffic jam with solely smaller parties within the state.
So, why has Akhilesh Yadav already determined to travel solo and project the SP because the main opposition party once the polls ar still fourteen months away?
Lessons from the past
The Samajwadi Party has had dangerous experiences with 2 major parties within the past. It fought the 2017 Assembly elections with the Congress and therefore the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). However, it all over up not solely with a lesser variety of seats however conjointly its vote share weakened each times.
A senior SP leader said: “In 2017, once the Samajwadi Party entered into alliance with Congress, each the parties round-faced losses however it absolutely was SP that lost its vote share moreover. With several party leaders not obtaining tickets as several seats visited the alliance partner, it resulted in large-scale rancour, and rather than consolidation of votes, it resulted in division of votes. ” ? specific Explained is currently on message
What happened in 2017
In 2017, around 114 out of 403 UP Assembly seats were to incline to the Congress. whereas Associate in Nursing agreement couldn’t be reached, there have been regarding forty SP leaders World Health Organization all over up contesting on Congress tickets. This wasn’t all. Despite the alliance, each the parties couldn’t persuade several of their leaders to go away their seats and, thus, there have been regarding twenty eight seats on that each SP and Congress fielded their candidates. it absolutely was brought up as “friendly fights” that confused the voters. it absolutely was clear from the poll results that neither party was ready to transfer its votes to every other’s candidates in seats left for the opposite, rather, infighting in each the parties reinforced the BJP.
SP’s vote share in past elections
Despite alliances with major parties, the Samajwadi Party’s vote share within the past four elections once 2012 — once it came to power with a majority within the state — has been on the decline. whereas in 2012 its vote share was twenty nine.12 per cent, in 2014 Lok Sabha elections it absolutely was twenty two.3 per cent; in 2017 it weakened to twenty one.8 per cent, and in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, its vote share unfit additional to eighteen.11 per cent.
Learnings from province and therefore the prevailing narrative
Samajwadi Party leaders say that outcomes of province elections have created it clear that any alliance against the ruling BJP would work solely post-poll if needed and pre-poll alliance would solely lead to division of votes, infighting, which, they feel, would facilitate BJP or its alliance partners in UP.
Moreover, there’s a powerful feeling among the Samajwadi Party that the narrative as of now’s of a fight between the BJP and therefore the SP, and if the SP enters into alliance with the other major party, it’ll spoil the narrative. “There could be a clear narrative of ‘BJP versus SP’ for 2022 Assembly polls within the state and therefore the focus would get on post-poll alliance if needed instead of pre-poll alliances. Previous mistakes wouldn’t be continual,” aforesaid a celebration leader.
There is conjointly this realisation that no party, be it BSP, SP or Congress, has the potential to “transfer” votes of their parties to every other’s candidates. Therefore, the conclusion wide drawn is that it’s higher for all parties to travel it alone and enter into any alliance once the elections
