First it was Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati who grabbed headlines and now it is Samajwadi chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. One for withdrawing support to the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre, the other for extending it.

The intense political rivalry between the BSP and the SP is not new. But it has intensified in recent years as the Congress went missing and the BJP’s fortunes declined in UP. During the last few assembly elections there has been a gradual decline in the vote share of the SP and an increase in the vote share of the BSP.

But it was during the 2007 Assembly elections that the BSP turned the tables on the SP, emerging as the single largest party in the state. The BSP’s victory march continued in the by-elections held in the state in April. Not only did its candidates win all three Assembly and two Lok Sabha seats, but the Samajwadi Party nominees also lagged far behind the winning candidate. The BSP polled 37 per cent votes while the SP got 26 per cent votes.

With the recent victories, the BSP has managed to consolidate its position in the state while the SP appears to have been maginalised. So, does the defeat in assembly elections and recent by-elections signal the beginning of the end for Mulayam in state politics? Does his support for to the Congress-led UPA government on the nuclear deal issues indicate his desperation for an ally in the next Lok Sabha elections?

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