SP finding hard to keep flock together amid internal strife on caste equations

Lucknow: Through alliances with smaller parties SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav has prepared a deft plan to balance the caste equations, but the own aspirations of these parties are creating obstacles in the selection of candidates for many seats.

At the same time, in many seats, the tough challenge before the party strategists is to deal with the displeasure of the SP leaders which has arisen due to the denial of ticket.

It is worth noting that to counter the BJP’s caste game-plan SP chief has made alliances with many smaller parties, including Omprakash Rajbhar-Led SBSP, RLD, Krishna Patel faction’s Apna Dal, Democratic Socialist Party, Mahanadal and NCP.

So far, Akhilesh Yadav along with his allies has fielded 369 candidates. Jayant Chaudhary’s party got the maximum 33 seats, through which the alliance is expecting in the voting which has been completed in the first two phases.

Now the marathon rounds of brainstorming are going on for the remaining three dozen seats. Omprakash Rajbhar wants to field his party’s candidates on fourteen seats.

In fact, the SP has already declared the names of candidates in many seats that were in the focus of Rajbhar’s party. There are some seats that even allies like Apna Dal, Kameravadi, Democratic Socialist Party and Mahan Dal are keen to get.

However, SP leaders claim that discussions are on with allies and soon after resolving the disputes candidates will be declared on the remaining seats.

Moreover, there is also resentment in the SP camp due to the replacement of the declared candidates on about a dozen seats.

In place of Amarnath Maurya, who was made a candidate from Allahabad West seat, Richa Singh has now been made the SP candidate.