New party could help Congress by cutting into Mulayam votes

Lucknow: Former prime minister V.P. Singh's Jan Morcha, in its new avatar in 2006, could do to the Samajwadi Party what the latter did to the Congress in 1989.

In the '80s, the Jan Morcha had successfully voted the Congress out of power at the centre by providing a platform to all anti-Congress forces. In 2006, the Jan Morcha hopes to oust the Samajwadi Party from power in UP by bring all anti-Mulayam forces on one platform.

The Jan Morcha, now headed by suspended Samajwadi lawmaker Raj Babbar, is not only providing oxygen to smaller regional outfits that are clamouring for their space in the sun but also has the potential of toppling the Samajwadi Party's apple cart in the electoral battle.

In local parlance, the Jan Morcha is already being termed as a "vote katwa" party one that may not benefit itself but can substantially damage another party.

To begin with, the Jan Morcha has already started targeting disgruntled elements within the Samajwadi Party and ministers like Haji Yakub Qureshi may not be hesitant to make Jan Morcha their next resting place.

A disgruntled minister of a breakaway Bahujan Samaj Party group admitted as much to this newspaper yesterday.