Riding high on UP Lok Sabha success, Congress, SP eye long bonhomie arc – from streets to Parliament

Buoyed by the success of their tie-up in Uttar Pradesh in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are ready to walk the extra mile and continue their bonhomie in the coming days, aiming to become “a force and a stronger Opposition” against the BJP.

The decision comes after an analysis of the Lok Sabha results by both the parties revealed that the alliance not only managed to consolidate votes of the minority and Most Backward Classes (MBCs) but also the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in their favour.

In the 2019 polls, the Dalit votes had not been transferred to the SP despite its alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) as a part of the Mahagathbandhan. Dalits are seen to be the traditional voter base of the BSP, but a section of them appears to have shifted their allegiance to other parties over the last several years.

The SP put up its best-ever show in UP in the recent polls, winning 37 out of the 80 seats, while the Congress, which had won a single seat in 2019, upped its tally to six.

Indicating that the SP-Congress ties are set to continue, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, during his recent Rae Bareli visit, referred to the leaders of both parties as his “sena (army)”. “We have our army in Parliament now. And despite being in the Opposition, we will ensure that schemes like Agniveer are revoked,” he said, pointing towards the SP leaders seated next to the Congress leaders on the dais.

On their part, the SP leaders, who shared the stage with All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the Congress’s “Abhaar Sabha (thanksgiving gathering)” on June 11, addressed the gathering. The SP’s Rae Bareli president Birendra Yadav said his