UP polls: Cong may not go with BSP

If the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, gets under 170 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, President's Rule is likely to be imposed in Uttar Pradesh.

This was the belief among political managers of various political parties Business Standard spoke to. The BJP has virtually given up the fight and sources close to party president Rajnath Singh said there was no possibility of the BJP helping Mayawati in any way to form the government.

The only possible combination "" Mayawati supported by the Congress "" has also been ruled out by managers in the party who say that while Rahul Gandhi might consider forming a government in coalition with Mayawati just to boost the morale of the party, Congress president Sonia Gandhi is of the view that the Congress would be better off sitting in the Opposition till it can recover the ground it has lost in the last few years.

There is no other combination possible "" the Samajwadi Party (SP) will neither break bread with the Congress nor the BJP. An SP-BSP alliance is out of the question. Even with the help of independents, and despite the wave-like conditions in her favour in UP, whether Mayawati will be able to reach the 202-seat mark is an uncertainty.

Under the circumstances, the discussion in the central government is how efficiently to impose President's Rule in a hung Assembly and how best to leverage it.

As imposing President's Rule means the appointment of advisors who effectively run the administration, names are circulating of friendly retired bureaucrats who can be counted upon to understand the Congress-UPA's compulsions and priorities in running the state from the Centre.

If the Centre has the freedom to do what it wants in UP, the first priority is likely to be to undo at least three steps the Mulayam Singh Yadav government had taken: ending UP's isolation from VAT so that there is a clearer picture of the state's actual revenues and resources, visible and clear steps on restoring law and order and addressing the famine-like conditions in the Bundelkhand region that have damaged the Mulayam Singh Yadav government the most.

The Centre's immediate concern is to prevent horse-trading to enable Mayawati to form a government. The first indication of this is that the prosecution of Mayawati in the Taj Expressway case has reached Governor TV Rajeshwar.

Meanwhile, top government sources said Parliament may be adjourned sine die after declaring President's Rule in the state following a hung verdict.