Political archrivals in India's most populous state have stitched an inventive political alliance that fuses votes from the ancient caste system to take on the ruling Hindu nationalist party-led government.
FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2019, file photo, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, right, greets Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on her birthday in Lucknow, India. Longtime political archrivals in India's most populous state have stitched an inventive political alliance that fuses votes from the ancient Hindu caste system to take on the ruling Hindu nationalist party-led government.
"Even though caste discrimination has been officially banned in India, caste continues to be the driving force as it shapes the way people vote during elections," said Giri Institute of Development Studies researcher Nomita P. Kumar. Out of 80 seats up for grabs in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament, Mayawati's BSP will contest 38 while SP will contest 37 seats. Another regional party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, will contest three seats. The alliance has decided not to field candidates against leaders of the main opposition Congress party, whose president, Rahul Gandhi, is running from the city of Amethi.
"This is Modi magic which has forced two bitter enemies to join hands. This alliance is unnatural. It will not stand the trial of election. Politics is not arithmetic all the time. It requires chemistry too," he told The Associated Press in Lucknow.The BSP and SP stitched an alliance for provincial elections in 1993, when the BJP was gaining ground after right-wing Hindu rioters demolished a mosque in the city of Ayodhya, fanning the flames of Hindu nationalism.
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