Bihar woes echo in UP: Will Congress-SP alliance survive till 2027 assembly polls?

Lucknow: Congress’ dismal performance in the Bihar assembly elections may cast a shadow over its alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly polls are scheduled to be held in 2027.

Congress and SP had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in alliance in UP and managed to successfully counter the BJP in India’s biggest state. Together, the two parties won 43 of the 80 seats in the state.

BJP’s tally declined sharply from 62 to 33 in UP in the LS polls and the saffron party even lost the Ayodhya seat to SP nominee Awadhesh Prasad.

The SP leaders too now think that Congress’ vote bank has shrunk further. The political observers here feel that Congress’ hold over the Muslim voters may have weakened, as was evident in Bihar.

Speculations about a possible alliance between the BSP and the AIMIM could further dent this vote bank, the observers opine.

‘’Congress may get a lesser number of seats if its alliance with SP survives at all,’’ said a Lucknow based political analyst.

The SP has so far refrained from commenting on its alliance with the Congress but some of its leaders have, off record, expressed doubt on the future of the alliance. ‘’We should rethink it (alliance with Congress) after the Bihar results,’’ said an SP leader here while speaking to DH.

Congress could win only six seats in the Bihar assembly polls and the party fared dismally even in the Muslim dominated seats.

The state Congress leaders, however, sought to put up a brave face claiming that the Bihar results would have no bearing on its alliance with SP. ‘’Every state assembly election is different...our alliance with SP is intact,’’ said a UP Congress leader here.

The grand old party may get solace from the fact that SP president Akhilesh Yadav, like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, had attributed the unprecedented Bihar results to ‘vote chori’. ‘’We will not allow vote chori in Bengal and UP,’’ Akhilesh had said.