Facing anti-incumbency in MP, BJP may soon face a Congress-BSP alliance too

In a historic first, the Congress party will have an electoral pact with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh polls. The Congress and BSP are also planning a similar tie-up in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Kamal Nath, the newly-appointed Congress chief for MP, confirmed this to The Wire and said he was the one negotiating with Mayawati. The alliance with BSP is done and dusted in principle and the Congress has already got the Gondwana Gantantra Party – which has a tiny hold in eastern MP – on board with the alliance. For the past 20 years, Mayawati has polled a steady 7% vote share across Madhya Pradesh. If you add the Congress vote share in the last elections – 37% – then the Congress and BSP alliance is likely to give the BJP a jolt. The BJP polled 45% of the votes and is facing huge anti-incumbency in MP after being in power for three terms. A recent Lokniti-CSDS survey suggests that anti-incumbency in MP is much worse than in Rajasthan.