Though it can still boast of being the third-largest party after the Congress and BJP in the current Lok Sabha, the Samajwadi Party, which shrunk from a tally of 39 seats to only 23 it won this time around, is up against a challenge in its home turf Uttar Pradesh.

That too, despite the fact that SP bagged the largest number of seats from 80-member Lok Sabha contingent from UP, trumping the ruling BSP down below Mayawati’s grand dreams.

The SP, which was taking comfort from the marginalisation of the BJP and Congress in the 2007 Assembly elections, where it was trounced by the BSP, has been shaken up after the Congress’s stunning performance in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections by winning more seats than that of Mayawati’s BSP.

The SP’s worries have been compounded by the Congress’s efforts at disrupting the nascent bipolarity that was established in 2007 Assembly elections that turned UP’s political battle into a bipolar contest between the BSP and SP, with other parties in the fringes.

The SP, in its national executive meeting at Agra later this week, would be trying to come to terms with this new situation and also strategise a way to emerge strong.

The Congress has another strategy to solidify its stance. With its campaign against Mayawati over the torching of Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna’s residence and Rahul Gandhi’s idea of an autonomous Bundelkhand Development Authority, the Congress is making noises in the state that makes it appear as the main challenger of Mayawati and not the SP, the principal opposition party in the state.

... contd.