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Horse-trading of MPs at brisk pace in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: Horse-trading of elected members of Parliament has moved into top gear in Uttar Pradesh with the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party making a determined bid to breach each other’s fortress ahead of the July 21-22 trial of strength of the UPA government in Parliament. The battlelines have been drawn on the basis of their opposition or support for the nuclear deal with the U.S., as well as the Congress-led UPA government.

The BSP seems to have stolen a march on its bitter political adversary in the first lap. Three Samajwadi MPs – Munawwar Hasan, Jai Prakash Rawat and Rajnarain Budhaulia – have indicated that they would defy the party whip on supporting the UPA government and the nuclear deal.

After poaching into the SP territory, the Congress — which has nine MPs from the State, including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi — is said to be the next target of the BSP. Ruling party sources said that efforts were on to win over three Congress MPs to the BSP’s cause. The speculation gained ground after the former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP, Akhilesh Das Gupta, left the Congress and joined the BSP., a couple of months ago. However, the UP Congress president, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, denied any MP will desert the party.

The Samajwadi Party on the other hand, is reported to have initiated moves to break the ruling party’s bastion. A senior SP leader cited the example of a BSP MP from Eastern U.P. who, he claimed would vote for the nuclear deal and the UPA government. About half a dozen other BSP MPs have also been reportedly approached by the SP, according to informed sources.

Among the mainstream parties in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP remains unfazed. It has 10 MPs from the State. The Rashtriya Lok Dal with three MPs is the other party having its base in Uttar Pradesh.

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