Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav along with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. Other anti-BJP parties like Prakash Ambedkar’s Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, the Left parties, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party (MIM) are not yet part of the opposition alliance in Maharashtra. While the two parties are likely to agree to an equitable seat-sharing formula, smaller allies and other anti-BJP parties are likely to be accommodated in the individual quotas of Congress and NCP. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis promptly remined the Shiv Sena that it had to ally with the BJP only if it was committed to Hindutva. Contours of this anti-BJP narrative and alliance are also likely to emerge out of an anti-BJP rally called by the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata on January 19.

Source: Mint January 06, 2019 10:41 UTC