Lok Sabha elections: SP, Congress to focus on Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh

Looking to consolidate Muslim votes, SP and Congress have joined hands for the parliamentary polls. Radhika Ramaseshan explains what it means for their LS prospects

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has faced a series of electoral defeats in Uttar Pradesh — starting with the 2014 Lok Sabha polls until 2022 state elections. Though it increased its seat count from 47 to 110 in the most recent poll, the party has lost two allies -- the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) — both of which have since joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
 

The SBSP and the RLD, in themselves, are not exactly powerful entities, nonetheless, they brought value to the SP’s table by adding their caste-derived votes in