Wed Jul 2, 2008 9:03pm IST
By Alistair Scrutton
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - It is a party that once counted a "bandit queen" among its lawmakers. It lost power in its home state after crime reached epidemic proportions. Its leader, a former wrestler, faces corruption probes.
It is a sign of the vagaries of India's coalition politics that the Samajwadi Party (SP) could soon hold the balance of power in India, helping mould the fate of a trillion-dollar economy and a landmark nuclear deal with the United States.
The government appears close to jettisoning its communist allies as it presses ahead with the nuclear deal, and is trying to replace their crucial parliamentary support with the Samajwadi Party -- or Socialist Party -- so it can avoid early general elections.
The party, under long-time leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, a former wrestler who was once India's defence minister, has for years dominated Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. It relies on votes of farmers from the Yadav caste and Muslims.
The party has a colourful history in one of India's poorest, most feudal and corrupt states. "Bandit Queen" Phoolan Devi, an outlaw who rampaged through Uttar Pradesh in the 1980s, joined the SP before she was gunned down.
But it is also a party known for its pragmatism.
"The Samajwadi is a safe bet for Congress to retain power," said Bhaskara Rao, a political analyst at the Centre for Media Studies. "It will be an alliance based on convenience with both sides just interested in power."
These alliances might become more common in Reuters
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