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With speculation growing that the Bahujan Samaj Party and Bharatiya Janata Party are likely to come together under Mayawati's leadership to stake their claim to form the government in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party is working to defeat the plan with the help of the BSP's Muslim legislators.
Highly placed Samajwadi Party sources told rediff.com on Saturday that there had been a positive response from the Muslim legislators who are unhappy with Mayawati's affinity for the BJP.
The Samajwadi Party has been working on these MLAs, telling them that it would be difficult for them to explain their ties with the BJP to their constituents. The party is persuading them to fire the first salvo by voting against the BSP line in the election for a new speaker.
The speaker's election will precede the motion of trust in the new government. The 17 Muslim MLAs of the BSP do not constitute one-third of the legislature party, which means they will expose themselves to disqualification if they defy the party whip. Hence they would also like to get a candidate of their choice elected as speaker, following the example of outgoing speaker Kesrinath Tripathi, who sat on a case pertaining to the split in the BSP legislative party in the previous assembly until the term of the House itself ended.
With the Samajwadi Party clued in to the BSP hideouts, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Mayawati to keep her flock out of Mulayam Singh Yadav's reach. It has therefore become easier for the BJP to make her agree to many of their terms, which initially appeared impossible.
With one Samajwadi MLA having been killed in Lucknow recently and a few who won from more than one constituency having resigned one of their seats, the total strength of the House has been reduced to 399 from 403. This means any combination that wishes to form the government will have to get the support of at least 200 legislators.
The Samajwadi Party leads the tally with 144 MLAs (145-1) followed by the BSP's 98 and the BJP's 88.The Congress has 26 MLAs while Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal, a BJP ally, has 14. The support of small groups and independent members could therefore prove vital.
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election 2002: The complete coverage
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