Will Samajwadi Party's OBC alliance gamble yield electoral dividends?

While Akhilesh has got his 85-versus-15 math right, he may find it hard to bring diverse OBC and SC mindsets under one roof, especially when BJP and Congress have their gameplans ready

The Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh is traditionally known for its leanings towards the Other Backward Classes (OBC), where it has a strong support base. An essentially Yadav-dominated political outfit, it has nevertheless worked tirelessly to bring practically anything and everything carrying the 'Most backward Class' tag under its umbrella. So while it has cultivated leadership in OBC castes such as kumhar (potters), Gaderiya (shepherds) and Nishad (boatmen and fishermen, a formidable MBC caste, by the way), it also yielded prime space for quite a while to Beni Prasad Verma, a Kurmi leader who continues to wield a great deal