Keeping this overbearing consideration, Akhilesh is even toeing Mayawati’s line when it comes to taking a position on other political parties, giving up his party’s option of adopting an independent stand. For instance, whenever Mayawati criticised Congress or BJP, Akhilesh followed suit without rail. So much so when Mayawati refused to enter into an alliance with Congress in all the three states Akhilesh also did the same.

And when the results were announced Mayawati and Akhilesh welcomed the verdict and announced their support to Congress to form the government even before the party asked for it. Now Akhilesh has convened a meeting of party MPs, MLAs and important office-bearers to discuss the post-poll scenario and evolve the strategy to face 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He has also announced that he was willing to sacrifice more seats to BSP for the larger aim of keeping BJP away from power.

Much depends now on the high profile meeting of December 18 takes decision. But significantly, Akhilesh is not willing to talk about Congress, RLD and other parties or seat sharing with them. He is learnt to be constantly in touch with Mayawati through intermediaries. There are also reports that Akhilesh had a meeting with the BSP leader at the airport recently.

Mayawati is herself constantly in touch with senior party leaders to evolve a strategy to fight BJP in UP and other states in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. She is also planning to overhaul the party organisation to remove dead wood and make it more effective. An exercise is on to identify those elements from grass root level to top and remove them.

Similarly, Mayawati is much ahead of other political parties in identifying candidates for those seats considered to winnable. But she had refused to join the Mahagathbandhan meeting of opposition parties in Delhi one day before the election results were announced.

The analysis of the assembly results reveals that had the BSP entered into an alliance with Congress in the three states, BJP would have been reduced to very few seats Now what remains to be seen is whether the BSP national president will join hands with non-Congress non-BJP parties for an alliance or she would agree to accommodate Congress too to defeat BJP.

Keeping her unpredictable behaviour when it comes to alliance with other political parties in the past, Akhilesh and other leaders are keeping their finger crossed as to how things would unfold in the days to come.

It may be mentioned here that Mayawati had become UP chief minister thrice with the help of BJP and had shared dais with Narendra Modi in Gujarat. But there is no doubt that if Akhilesh and Mayawati join hands and accommodate RLD and other parties, then it would be very tough for BJP to win anything close to the 71 seats it won in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. (IPA Service)