Ever since Mayawati attended the meeting of opposition leaders convened by AICC president Sonia Gandhi to finalize the name of presidential candidate Mrs Meira Kumar, it was clear that she would join hands with other parties to challenge BJP. She is now sending her close lieutenant Satish Mishra MP to the opposition leaders meeting to finalise a joint opposition candidate for Vice-President. Mayawati has already sent her consent to attend the mahagatbandan rally convened by RJD President Lalu Yadav in August in Patna against Modi government and BJP. She is expected to share the dais with arch rival and national president of Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav.

Before the UP elections results were announced, Akhilesh Yadav had said that he was willing to join hands with Mayawati to stop BJP coming to power. And Mayawati had not rejected the offer.

RJD chief Lalu Yadav is very keen on bringing the two leaders together to forge a viable alliance in UP and other places to take on BJP in other states as well in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Akhilesh has avoided any public criticism of Mayawati after the results were announced and similarly Mayawati has refrained from making any direct attack on the SP chief. During the UP assembly session too Samajwadi Party and BSP were seen making concerted attacks to expose the failure of the Yogi government on the law and order front.

There is realization in BSP that the party had become very weak after the exit of powerful leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya and Nasimuddin Siddiqui who were considered to be the backbone of the party. BSP has seen large scale exodus during the last few months, which was also reflected in the performance of the party in the assembly elections.

BSP came to power thrice with the help of BJP and came to power on its own in 2007. But after that the party has seen consistent decline so much so it could not open the account in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the BJP made a serious dent into its dalit support base. Modi has also been playing the dalit card to target her vote bank and the nomination of Ramnath Kovind for the post of President is further aimed at winning over dalit votes all over the country.

Much significance is being attached to her address to party leaders on July 8 when she asked all office-bearers to prepare for assembly polls in other states. Party in-charges of other states have been asked to spend most of the time in their states.

Ram Achal Rajbhar, who is in charge of Gujarat, said that he had been assigned the work of expanding the party organization in the state and that the party's central leadership would decide on the possibilities of working with Congress or other parties in the state. (IPA)