New Delhi, May 11: The CPM is in a spot: its crucial secular allies — the Samajwadi Party and the Congress — have suffered setbacks in Uttar Pra-desh and it has never been comfortable with the winner.

“We do not have any channel of communication with the Bahujan Samaj Party,” said CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury. “But we will now have to initiate some communication.”

The Assembly poll results are a setback to the CPM’s political strategy of keeping the BJP at bay in the states and at the Centre. It has always stood by the Samajwadi Party, regardless of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s erratic behaviour.

Former CPM general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet was considered a “mentor” by Mulayam. Surjeet’s successor Prakash Karat was never very fond of the Samajwadi Party’s “political culture” but kept close relations with Mulayam.

The CPM would have liked Mulayam to benefit from the BJP’s decline. It always believed the Samajwadi Party to be the strongest secular party in the largest and most volatile state of India.

But its calculations have gone awry as the BSP has eme-rged a clear winner and the seats tally of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress have come down.

The CPM does not consider the BSP secular. It is suspicious because Mayavati had tied up with the BJP in the past. So, it would prefer to keep her at arm’s length.

There has been no communication between the CPM and the BSP since Kanshi Ram’s death. But it can no longer afford to stay aloof. It has to engage with Mayavati at least on the issue of the presidential elections, which is going to hot up in the next few days.

“We hope the BSP does not side with the BJP,” Yechury said.