Little elbow room, SP puts foot down

From a belligerent stand against participating in a Congress alliance three months ago, the SP leadership now, not only declared that it is ...

From a belligerent stand against participating in a Congress alliance three months ago, the SP leadership now, not only declared that it is open to participating in a secular front in order to keep the NDA out, but that they would neither propose nor oppose Sonia Gandhi’s leadership of such a front.

On Tuesday, party general-secretary Amar Singh thanked Sonia Gandhi for opting out of the leadership race. Singh said, ‘‘Sonia has made a big sacrifice in the interest of keeping secular unity. Therefore, we need not needlessly get into the leadership now.’’

The SP’s continuous verbal duel with the Congress over Sonia’s leadership issue since early January, has revealed its own ambitions of playing kingmaker, given a fractured verdict. Singh is candid when he says, ‘‘We are already in touch with smaller parties inside and outside the NDA to position ourselves on the day of the results. However, our aim is to keep the BJP and the NDA out,’’ he added.

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The prospects of roping in parties look bleak — most of the non-NDA parties have already tied-up with the Congress, with the exception of Chautala’s INLD, Farooq Abdullah’s NC, Prafulla Mahanta’s AGP, who are all nursing their own ambitions.

The SP’s flip-flop on Sonia and the Congress leading the coalition is directly proportional to its declining importance in a secular formation. The SP is increasingly aware that if the Congress alliance with Laloo Prasad Yadav’s RLD, Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP, K Karunanidhi’s rainbow coalition led by his DMK, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, Shibu Soren’s JMM, K Chandrashekhar Rao’s TRS, and with the Left parties touches 240 seats, it may have other options besides the SP. The most important prospective ally being the SP’s pet hate, the BSP led by Mayawati.

However, the SP is aware that most of the Congress’ allies, apart from Laloo and Paswan, are yet to endorse Sonia’s leadership of the coalition. So, instead of taking the lead in an anti-Sonia front, the SP hopes to fire from the shoulders of probable critics like Pawar, who is yet to make up his mind on the leadership issue. The SP will then not have to face criticism yet again for blocking a secular front and for being anti-Sonia.

The SP’s antagonism towards the Congress is natural: A Congress comeback at the Centre will eventually wipe out the party in Uttar Pradesh.

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Says Singh, ‘‘The Congress’ perception is clear – we grabbed the secular (read Muslim) space in UP.’’ The SP’s first preference, therefore, is the formation of a Third Front, and the consensus leader, with so many aspirants for the post, is veteran CPI(M) leader, Somnath Chatterjee.