What does Akhilesh Yadav’s presence in Bihar mean for the larger opposition unity project?

The Samajwadi Party and Congress have faced several pulls and pressures in their past alliances in Uttar Pradesh that dimmed the probability of the two coming together. But Rahul Gandhi's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar has seen several chief ministers and ex-chief ministers across the opposition bloc participating in it, and the presence of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is certainly gathering eyeballs.

Earlier, there have been turf wars between the two parties in Uttar Pradesh due to which both the leaders would hold back from supporting each other, except in shared political benefits. The relationship between the two mellowed down after the successful campaign in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, where they scored a majority of seats. The rally, therefore, has placed renewed focus on the personal equation between the two, after Akhilesh Yadav joined Rahul Gandhi's yatra outside his home state. He said that he would like to congratulate Rahul Gandhi, Tejaswi Yadav and the public who are raising their voices against the alleged vote theft.

The two leaders had earlier campaigned in the 2017 assembly elections under the banner of “UP ke ladke,” presenting themselves as alternatives. That experiment, however, collapsed under the BJP wave. In the present climate of alleged electoral malpractice, both seemed to have found renewed common cause in mobilising voters and protecting democratic institutions. And later during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the duo rallied again a few more times. 

In the 2023 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, the local Congress leadership had tried to keep the Samajwadi Party away despite the assurance from the Congress's top leadership that they would be accommodated in the list of ticket distribution. A leader close to Akhilesh said, "It was finalised to the extent that Akhilesh Yadav had suggested Congress release all the candidates of his party themselves to send a message of unity across, but when the Congress released the list, it had no names of SP candidates."

On Saturday, after Akhilesh joined the rally, Congress Organisation general secretary K.C. Venugopal said, "This morning, former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav Ji joined the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Saran. Welcomed him to this historic movement to protect democracy. He has been a steadfast ally in our fight against the BJP's destruction of our democracy, and a strong voice for the poor and underprivileged in UP and across the country."

The tweet signals a potential consolidation of the opposition bloc in Uttar Pradesh as well. 

A Member of Parliament said that the two, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, have been meeting in parliament often and have shown better synergies about their future political ventures together. He said that when there was a discussion over the 2027 assembly elections, both the leaders agreed to form a well-coordinated front against the BJP.

"Although a few people around Akhilesh have wanted to keep him away from the Congress, there are still people in both parties who have made many efforts to bring the two together. And both the leaders have realised that backing each other can help save their political turf and defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh."