Buoyed by Oppn unity, Mulayam 'sure' of victory

NEW DELHI: Although UP governor Vishnu Kant Shastri on Tuesday evening gave Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav only a day to produce a list of his supporters, the SP appeared confident it will be able to garner the numbers to help it past the winning post.
Mulayam, who staked his party''s claim to form an alternative government earlier in the day, has been pledged the support of other opposition parties, including the Congress and Ajit Singh''s Rashtriya Lok Dal.The Congress will be giving its letter of support to the governor on Wednesday. SP sources maintained that the remaining shortfall in the numbers could be made up through the support of independent legislators and even a section of disgruntled BSP MLAs.
The SP''s confidence is also based on the divisions within the BJP on this issue. While a section of the BJP leadership favours imposition of President''s rule to be followed by an assembly election, another group believes it would help the BJP in the long run if the SP and other opposition parties are given an opportunity to form the next government.
Opposition leaders believe the BJP favoured the second option as it is not ready to face an assembly election and that it would like some time to elapse for it to distance itself from the BSP and consolidate its support base. Besides, given the antipathy between Mayawati and Mulayam, the BJP could depend upon the SP to settle scores with her.
SP leaders maintained that BJP will not be averse to handing over the baton to Mulayam as it would use this opportunity to put the Ayodhya issue back on the state''s political agenda. With Mulayam at the helm of affairs, the BJP will revive its demand for the construction of the Ram Temple while dregding up memories of the treatment meted out to the kar sevaks during his earlier stint as chief minister.
"Polarisation of the polity will help both the BJP and Mulayam," remarked a senior opposition leader, adding that the BJP would find itself hemmed in if the state is placed under Central rule.
SP general secretary Amar Singh, however, denied any kind of nexus between his party and the BJP. He also said that they were not in the "business of horsetrading". He said the SP had always maintained that the BJP-BSP government would fall under the weight of its internal contradictions and that is exactly what happened.
Meanwhile, the Congress finds itself in a fix. Although it has no choice but to support an alternative secular front, it is not happy about supporting an SP-led government which indirectly enjoys the BJP''s blessings. By associating with the SP, it will find it difficult to build bridges with the BSP, an option that the Congress does not wish to foreclose.