LUCKNOW: Two
regional parties that were former bitter rivals announced an unlikely alliance
yesterday to fight Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu
nationalist party in a looming general election. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and
the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) -- key players in the northern state of Uttar
Pradesh -- said they would set aside their differences to jointly fight Modi in
the bedrock state.

The two
central-left parties have widespread support among lower castes and poor voters
across the state -- India's most populous, with 220 million people. Uttar
Pradesh is a bellwether of national politics, accounting for 80 of the 552
members of parliament in New Delhi. An election is expected to be held in April
and May and one recent poll indicated Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may
fall short of a majority. 

Akhilesh Yadav,
the Samajwadi Party head, said the alliance would counter the "divisive
politics" of the BJP, which won a landslide victory in 2014. "The BJP
is dividing the country, it is stoking fear and hatred among communities,"
Yadav told a news conference sat alongside Mayawati, a popular low-caste leader
who heads the BSP. The parties, which will contest 38 seats each out of the
state's 80, left the main opposition Congress party out of the alliance.

The two have been
fierce rivals in recent years. They teamed up in 1993 and formed the Uttar
Pradesh state government but relations soured after Mayawati said she was
assaulted by Samajwadi Party activists in 1995. Modi's BJP suffered a rare
reverse when it lost three key state elections to Congress last month, amid
discontent over unemployment and economic inequality. A BJP spokesman played
down the importance of the alliance.

"We are
confident. Even if all the parties come together, we will still win,"
Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters in Delhi where the BJP is holding a key
convention. Modi rallied 10,000 party workers at the convention, dismissing
critics who say his policies harm the poor. "During our time there has not
been a single corruption allegation against us," he said "We believe
in treating everyone equally and taking the country on the path of
development." - AFP