| The meeting, which took place in Delhi at Mayawati's residence in the first week of January, is expected to have a major impact on political alignments in the state. |
| The meeting is significant as there is no love lost between BJP President Rajnath Singh and Mayawati. In fact, Rajnath Singh was one of the main leaders to have convinced the BJP in pulling the rug from under her government in 2002. "The fact that the RSS is meeting Mayawati shows that they are serious about the Uttar Pradesh elections," said a source in the BSP. |
| Mayawati has been the chief minister of the state thrice, all three times with help from the BJP. Yet their relationship has not been a pleasant one. The latest fracas between the two was when the government arrested Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya on a criminal complaint. At that time, the arrest was made out to be an assault on Rajput pride, which is an issue with Singh as well. |
| But there's has been a change in equations. "The situation is different after the informal understanding between the BJP and BSP in the recently concluded mayoral polls where the BSP did not field any candidate and transferred its votes to the BJP," said a source in the BJP. |
| This helped the BJP win eight out of 11 mayoral posts and paved the way for yet-another alliance with the BSP. The alliance will, however, further confuse the significant Muslim voters in the state, who have begun to view Mayawati in an ambiguous light. |
| The BJP feels that with the right tie-ups, it can swing 50-60 Assembly seats, and if it forms a government with Mayawati, it can have a larger say in the government, if not its own chief minister. However, naysayers in the party feel a bad marriage cannot be repaired so easily. |
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