Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party seems to be failing when it comes to keeping its flock together. Barring a few instances, the party has failed to maintain pre-poll alliances with almost all of its major allies – a trend seen since 2017 when Akhilesh Yadav Took over as SP chief.
In 2017, the Samajwadi Party forged an alliance with the Congress, which was led by Rahul Gandhi. A new chapter in the political history of the state was expected to begin with the coming together of the ‘boys of UP’ during the 2017 UP assembly elections. When the Samajwadi Party was in power, its reputation was damaged because of the family running in the Yadav dynasty. Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle Shivpal Yadav alleged that he was not getting “due respect” from his nephew, so he formed a separate group of his own.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, arch rivals SP and Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party came up with a message that polarization will no longer work and backward and minorities will come together. The results were unexpected as Mayawati’s BSP increased from zero to 10 MPs, while the SP managed to get just five seats. This alliance was also short-lived.
In 2022, the SP announced an alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal led by Chaudhary Jayant, the Mahan Dal led by Keshav Dev Maurya and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party led by Om Prakash Rajbhar. The alliance performed well but it was not enough to form the government in the state.
In the recent Lok Sabha by-elections held in Rampur and Azamgarh, which were considered SP bastions, the alliance failed to work its magic and the SP lost both the seats to the BJP.
While the Samajwadi Party has failed to hold together Congress, BSP, PSPL or Rajbhar SBSP alliances, the BJP has managed to keep its allies close, be it Apna Dal(s), Nishad Party. or any other small political organization.
However, the Samajwadi Party regards alliances as “experiments” that may not always work. Speaking to News18, spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said: “The alliances have been formed keeping in mind the ideology of the party and the assessment of the ground situation. Based on these two factors, we entered into an alliance in 2017, 2019 and 2022. There are coalition formation experiments. Sometimes they work; Sometimes they fail. We learn from these failures and try our best to give better performance in future elections.”
After losing in SP strongholds Rampur and Azamgarh, Akhilesh Yadav made some organizational changes in the party but at present nothing is working in his favor. Some political analysts have even begun to say that the politics of the Samajwadi Party is on a downward trend, especially at a time when the BJP is already in action mode for 2024.
Even my (Muslim-Yadav) alliance, which once stood firmly with the Samajwadi Party, has failed on several occasions amid allegations that Akhilesh Yadav was not taking a stand for the community. Meanwhile, the BJP has worked to bring Yadav voters into its fold and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi It has also been said that a plan should be made to reach the Muslim community.
Muslim voters have been vocal against the SP chief on several occasions, including the alleged laxity shown by Akhilesh Yadav in the Azam Khan case. The entry of players like the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has also cut into the Muslim vote bank, which was once considered a prized possession of the Samajwadi Party. The disillusionment of Muslim voters with the Samajwadi Party was witnessed in the recent Azamgarh by-election, where BSP candidate Guddu Jamali got over 2.5 lakh votes, ultimately losing to SP candidate Dharmendra Yadav.
With the 2024 general elections less than a year and a half away, the SP has stepped up its membership drive in an effort to revive and rejuvenate its cadres. Samajwadi Party will now also focus on booth level committees.
“We are making our strategy and preparing for 2024. We have started a membership drive to strengthen the party organisation. Our plan is to infuse new blood and energy by bringing in more and more youth. Akhilesh Yadav ji has dissolved all the major units of the party to re-fill it with active and energetic party workers. We are also working on strengthening booth committees and taking other necessary steps to improve the party’s performance in 2024.
For now, with only RLD, the road till 2024 seems lonely for Akhilesh Yadav.
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