Politics can make strangers and rivals hold their hands aloft. Thus, there was very little surprise at the picture of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan and Lalu Prasad with their arms raised and linked, demonstrating their unity. The unity, if it goes beyond the gesture, could mark an important moment. The impetus is to create a political space in north India where the various forces opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party can come together. This is not easy as it sounds since the three leaders represent parties whose strengths are derived from a similar demographic base. All three are leaders of caste-based parties that draw their support from various sections of the other backward classes in north India. In other words, they are actually competing parties. This applies more particularly to Messrs Paswan and Prasad, both of whom are from Bihar. This obvious competition and rivalry are being glossed over in a promised grand alliance against the BJP. It would not be a complete error to read this as an early indicator of the manner in which alliances could change and evolve before the next elections to the Lok Sabha.

The man who has made this alliance possible is the ever-controversial Amar Singh. But even the redoubtable Mr Singh could actually turn out to be a mere instrument of an ineluctable political process. The unstoppable rise of Mayavati in Uttar Pradesh and the looming presence of the BJP in north India are squeezing the space for the other caste-based parties from both ends. They cannot afford, for their own survival and success, to eat into each other’s pies. The new found bonhomie between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress after the trust vote will mean that the Congress could also become a part of this alliance. This will mean that the parties professing secularism in north India, with the exception of the Bahujan Samaj Party, will be under one banner. On the one hand, this could improve Ms Mayavati’s bargaining power; on the other, it could adversely affect the BJP’s fortune. Within the confines of caste politics, Mr Yadav’s presence could help Mr Prasad consolidate the Yadav vote, and Mr Paswan could help deflect some Dalit support from the BSP.