When the Congress and the Samajwadi Party tied up to put up a joint fight in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections, many political observers harked back to the disastrous performance the two parties had put up when they had allied for the assembly polls in the state in 2017.
However, what was significantly different this time was the genuine camaraderie, bonhomie and collaboration not only between the leaders of the two parties but also the workers on the ground. The red SP 'topis' and flags bearing the SP symbol, the cycle, jostled for space with the Congress scarves and flags in the joint electioneering of the two parties in the state. UP was important in the calculations of the INDIA bloc to pull the Bharatiya Janata Party below the majority mark, and the alliance between the SP and the Congress delivered on this count.
In 2019, the BJP and its allies had won 64 seats. The SP, which was in an alliance with the BSP then, had won 15 together with Mayawati's party. Its own tally was just five seats. The Congress had won only one seat, Rae Bareli.
ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE
This time round, the assessment of the leaders of the SP and the Congress was that they were in a position to severely damage the BJP's tally in the state. During the campaigns, they expressed confidence that the alliance would win more than 40 seats, which was met with a great amount of disbelief by many political observers because of the huge margins with which the BJP had won several seats in the previous elections.
However, the alliance was visible on the ground, with the SP and Congress workers pooling in efforts while their leaders Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held several joint rallies. If Akhilesh participated in a rally in favour of the Congress in Amethi and Rae Bareli, Rahul campaigned for Akhilesh in Kannauj. It was felt that there was no perceptible wave in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ground and livelihood issues as also local factors had come into play.
The alliance focused on livelihood issues as also local problems such as that of stray cattle and paper leaks in recruitment exams. Akhilesh sought to widen the support base of the SP beyond the Yadavs and the Muslims by talking about representing the interests of the 'Pichda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak' (backward, Dalit, and minorities).