Political realignments have started taking place in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha, scheduled to be held in November.
Of the 10 Rajya Sabha members, whose term ends on November 25, the BSP has six, SP has two and the BJP has one and one member was jointly supported by the SP and the Congress.
After the Assembly elections in 2012, the tables have turned and the Samajwadi Party now boasts of 228 members in the state Assembly while the BSP has 80 members, the BJP is left with 39 members while the Congress has 28 members. The RLD has only eight members.
The SP is all set to emerge as a major gainer since it can safely send six members to the Rajya Sabha and may even squeeze in a seventh with the help from smaller parties, independents and second preference votes.
According to party sources, the renomination of Ram Gopal Yadav, who is retiring next month, is a certainty but all eyes are set on former SP leader Amar Singh whose growing proximity to Mulayam Singh Yadav has already set hearts aflutter in the party.
If sources in the SP are to be believed, Mr Amar Singh is likely to file his nomination papers are an Independent candidate, with support from the SP which has reportedly promised to ensure his victory.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will also have a major say in the selection of candidates for the Upper House this time and he may get in one of his aides too.
The biggest hurdle for the Rajya Sabha biennial polls this time is the Congress and RLD combine. RLD president Ajit Singh is keen to gain an entry into the Rajya Sabha with Congress support and, in return, he has, promised to support a Congress candidate for the Vidhan Parishad.
However, a section of the Congress in UP is vehemently opposed to the idea and feels that Mr Ajit Singh is low on the reliability factor. “It would be better if the party high command opted for a Jat leader within the Congress for the Rajya Sabha. We must develop our own leadership in western UP,” said a senior Congress leader.
The RLD president is also said to be eyeing support from the SP but supporting two “outsiders” (Amar Singh and Ajit Singh) for the Rajya Sabha may not be acceptable to the party.
The biggest challenge in the Rajya Sabha biennial polls lies with the BSP which cane send only two members to replace the six retiring next month. The candidature of Mr Brijesh Pathak and Dr Akhilesh Das is said to be strong.but party sources claim that party vice-president Raja Ram, who is currently in-charge of three states, is the most likely candidate.