Half of UP comes under one roof: Ruling BJP is rattled by SP-BSP alliance

The ruling BJP is rattled by the SP-BSP alliance because the two represent over 50 per cent of the state's population

On November 5, 2016, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati had convened a press conference at her Lucknow residence, where she categorically ruled out an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls in 2017.

She had, in fact, cautioned other parties against having any truck with the socialist outfit, claiming it would benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

She was responding to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s suggestion to UP parties to forge an alliance on the lines of the “mahagathbandhan” in his home state to stop the BJP juggernaut. Mayawati said the SP