Presidential poll: SP support for Congress could jeopardise hopes of revival in Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: Congress party's uncharacteristic resolve in standing up to its troublesome ally, Mamata Banerjee, could jeopardise its hopes of revival in Uttar Pradesh.

The ruling party managed to get its way on the nomination of its first-choice candidate for the post only after driving a wedge between the alliance of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Although Congress failed to get Banerjee to budge from her opposition over the candidature of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, it succeeded in pulling the rug from under her by weaning away Yadav. Doing so, it thwarted Banerjee for once, but it came to be publicly seen as being bailed out by its arch-rival in India's most populous state.

Mulayam Singh Yadav switched sides within two days after holding a joint presser with Banerjee and announcing a wish list comprising three names that did not figure in the Congress' shortlist.

While SP has been an outside supporter of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance at the Centre, the two parties were engaged in a bitter campaign in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls earlier this year. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi took charge of the party's prolonged campaign in the state, where he toured more than half of the 403 constituencies over more than a year.

Gandhi's efforts were aimed as much at energising the party cadre as reaching out to the voters in the state that has remained out of bounds for Congress in the last two decades. Gandhi impressed upon his party that no state was more important to Congress than Uttar Pradesh. As he lashed out at his rivals during the campaign, he also crossed swords with Yadav's son Akhilesh, who finally became the chief minister.

When Congress ended up with just 28 seats, facing a near-rout in the Nehru-Gandhi family's pocket boroughs as well, Gandhi shouldered the blame for the party's defeat. However, he vowed to stay put in the state that was billed as his first major electoral test. This promise is likely to be tested in the days to come, with the ruling Samajwadi Party's support in the presidential election likely to make it difficult for Gandhi to target the state government.

SP, on the other hand, appears to have little to lose by bailing out Congress. Since Banerjee's first choice, ex-president APJ Abdul Kalam, was expected to receive the backing of the BJP-led NDA, SP can raise the bogey of backing the secular government's nominee.

Again, while it would not have gained much by aligning with Banerjee, it can always hope to extract its pound of flesh from the Centre. At the same time, as an outside supporter, it can assert its independence when it comes to legislations that do not meet its political objectives.