UTTAR PRADESH ELECTION RESULTS – Congress dragged the SP down.

Was UP going the Bihar way? From the time the SP and Congress alliance was announced, this question was constantly being raised during TV discussions and analyses. Similarities were being drawn with Bihar: Akhilesh Yadav is like Nitish Kumar and he has been successful in projecting a pro-development image. Akhilesh has built highways, distributed laptops and has started a number of other popular schemes, etc., etc. It was argued that the SP’s tie-up with the Congress will help consolidate the Muslim vote and Rahul Gandhi will be able to attract upper castes to the alliance. The results have proven that Akhilesh is no Nitish and Rahul is no Lalu. While in Bihar, Lalu Prasad’s RJD acted as a force-mutliplier and emerged as the largest single party, the Congress in UP has seemed to have dragged the SP down.