COMPETITION FOR PDA VOTES INTENSIFIES IN UP

Azad and Anand all set to challenge I.N.D.I Alliance.

The road to wining the upcoming byelections in Uttar Pradesh may prove to be challenging for the I.N.D.I Alliance, which put up a remarkable performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the state, by besting the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The challenge is because the PDA social engineering done by Akhilesh Yadav may not work fully this time as parties such as Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party and Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party both eye this vote bank. And with the "threat to the Constitution"-the platform on which the I.N.D.I Alliance fought the Lok Sabha elections-a non-issue in the byelections, the PDA population may not prove to be as loyal to the Alliance any longer. And if the PDA vote bank breaks, it may be advantage BJP. So, only time will tell who the real leader of the Pichhre (Backward), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (minority), that is the PDA, will be.

ASP leader Chandrashekhar, and BSP leader and Mayawati's nephew, Akash Anand, who has recently been appointed as the new convener of the party, have both started preparing to give a tough challenge to the I.N.D.I Alliance for UP's PDA votes.

The first challenge will be in the by elections of 10 seats and will continue to grow. Both BSP and ASP have announced to contest the byelections on all seats.