BJP is favorite of all the seven pollsters in UP, unnerving SP-Cong alliance

Lucknow: Different pollsters including Newstrack.com and Apna Bharat have come out with different figures on Uttar Pradesh assembly election results. However, a common factor is that none has predicted a win for the ruling Samajwadi Party . Everyone believes that the Bhartiya Janta Party which has been out of power in the state for 14 long years will emerge as the largest single party.

Another undisputed area: All the seven surveyors who participated in the Exit Polls and who have made their assessment public have concluded that the ruling party at the Centre will not get less than 150 assembly seats. In other words, all of them firmly believe that, at the worst, it will be just 52 members short of a majority.

The highest number of 285 has been given to the BJP by the Today's Chanakya and the lowest of 161 by IndiaTV-CVoter . All have placed third the Bahujan Samaj Party which had tried a new experiment of allotting more seats to the Muslim community than Dalits, its tradtional supporters, in this year's elections.

Excepting ABP News-Lokniti combine, no pollster has predicted more than 160 out of the total 403 seats to the Samajwadi Party- Congress alliance which was formed for the first time before the elections.

Another first: State chief minister Akhilesh Yadav who is the first leader of a party who has spoken of post-poll alliance two days before the final results. It means two things to common men: one, he is yet to mature as a politician, and two, he has accepted defeat before the final outcome.

He has expressed himself in favour of seeking support from a party which has taken a " vow" not to join hands with the SP ( his party) again. Party supremo Mayawati was manhandled by SP workers following her withdrawal of support to the SP government and it had infuriated her so much that she vowed not to back the party any more.

Although Akhilesh has given keeping-off the "communal forces" out as the reason for seeking her support it is just a cover. He would not like to be out of power and would not gracefully accept the verdict of the electorate. In addition to him, his alliance partner, the Congress has shown willingness to go with Maywati, if there is a need.

UP party president Raj Babbar himself has been quoted in support of the move.

Mayawati has not given her reaction but she may forget the past and ally with the party to come back to power after more than ten years. Many party leaders have deserted it in recent months . Many more may follow them after defeat and being out of reckoning.

She may not be opening out because she will have one more choice if there is a hung assembly and the BJP emerges as the largest single party. It will not be something new as she has shared power with the party in the past. The BJP may re-think about alliance with her as the party had a bitter experience with her previous pact.

She is not alone as far as the wait and watch approach is concerned. Excepting the present alliance partners none has opened his card.