Opportunism or long game? Why Akhilesh Yadav picked a Modi fan as SP’s RS candidate

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav’s choice of corporate executive Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani for the Rajya Sabha has revived an old dilemma in Indian politics. How far can a party stray from its ideological moorings to cultivate corporate connections in an electoral system increasingly driven by money?

That question came into sharp focus even before Nathwani could take his seat in the Rajya Sabha. His effusive praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose BJP is the SP’s principal political adversary in Uttar Pradesh, came on a day when INDIA Bloc protesters faced a police crackdown in the national capital.

Nathwani an asset or liability?

Nathwani’s post on X raised uncomfortable questions not just among critics and opposition parties but also within the SP’s own ranks. The party also faces another dilemma. Will Nathwani prove an asset, or is he already emerging as a liability Yadav will have to manage carefully?

Also read: From Reliance to Rajya Sabha: Who is SP's 'surprise' candidate Dhanraj Nathwani?

Speaking to The Federal, political experts and psephologists described Nathwani’s nomination by SP a mix of tactical pragmatism and political absurdity. While they acknowledge the need to rope in corporates to fund the party’s political endeavours, some warned that Nathwani’s longstanding proximity to Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah could carry a political ramification far beyond the perceived advantages.

“It was a complex decision that cuts both ways. It will surely pump money into the party’s war chest. At the same time, Nathwani’s known associations with the BJP will not go down very well with voters and a section of party workers. The SP may have to suffer the political fallout of this choice,” said Lucknow-based political commentator Ratan Manilal.

The PDA contradiction

Nathwani’s nomination as the SP’s second Rajya Sabha candidate sits uneasily with its electoral pitch ahead of the Assembly elections.

For a party banking on its Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (PDA) formula that helped it bag 37 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, bringing in a Reliance executive whose family ties with Modi and Shah are widely known is difficult to explain politically.

“Selecting an outsider whose public views contradict the party’s political narrative was embarrassing and has risked alienating voters and party cadres,” forewarned veteran political observer Anand Vardhan.

Also read: Meant for experts, Rajya Sabha now a marketplace for the rich

Vardhan said that the decision reeks of opportunism rather than an effort to build an alternative political front against the BJP.

“You talk about marginalised communities and then bring in a candidate with deep ties to the corporate house that has been fuelling the BJP’s rise,” he added.

A senior party leader, under the condition of anonymity, too, expressed reservation about the decision. “It has triggered unnecessary conversations right when the party was building good momentum,” the leader shared.

Corporate access, political calculations

Money and electoral politics are increasingly inseparable. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), corporate and business donations accounted for Rs 2,262.55 crore, nearly 89 per cent of the donations declared by six national parties in 2024. The BJP alone received Rs 2,064.58 crore.

Nathwani declared total family assets worth Rs 373.26 crore. Thus, his induction could undeniably help the Samajwadi Party cultivate corporate networks and strengthen the SP’s finances ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

“Money has become indispensable in elections. Parties have to make difficult choices to stay relevant. Akhilesh Yadav wants to expand his party, and money matters more than political narrative,” said Varanasi-based political activist Lenin Raghuvanshi.

Also read: Ayodhya showdown? Yogi counters Akhilesh’s dare with a face-off challenge

Manilal, however, argued that the SP could have courted corporates without compromising on its political narrative.

“There are responsible corporates too. Akhilesh could have chosen from among such corporates who still exist,” he said.

Trump card for hung Assembly

Some observers see a larger political calculation behind the nomination. They speculate that Yadav may be keeping channels open to sections of the BJP opposed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the event of a hung Assembly.

“Akhilesh knows winning a majority is next to impossible for the Opposition, not because there is no anti-incumbency, but because the BJP has mastered the art of winning elections through various means,” said Lucknow-based political commentator Atul Chandra.

Yadav’s best-case scenario, he argued, would be for the SP to emerge as the single largest party in a hung Assembly.

“In that situation, he would not mind taking outside support from the BJP to return to power. For both the SP and BJP, this workaround could serve a purpose,” Chandra added.

Vardhan also feels there are good reasons to draw these interpretations. “After all, SP wasted its surplus vote by not fielding a third candidate and giving a walkover to the BJP,” he argued.

The shifting corporate stakes in light of the uncertainties looming large over Indian enterprises due to the global meltdown could also be a factor behind the move, some experts contest.

Also read: Akhilesh redefines 'PDA': Samajwadi Party now woos Brahmins ahead of UP polls

“The decision also marks the early signs of shifting undercurrents within corporates. After all, the Ambanis have previously sided with Congress, most notably in 2009,” he said.

SP’s past dilemma: The Amar Singh example

The SP has travelled this road before. In 2004, industrialist Anil Ambani entered the Rajya Sabha as an Independent from Uttar Pradesh with the party’s support. His candidature was closely associated with Amar Singh, then the SP’s general secretary, whose business and celebrity networks became a prominent part of the party’s political machinery.

Ambani resigned from the Upper House in March 2006 amid a controversy over his membership of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council and concerns about propriety. The episode did little to settle the larger argument over corporate influence within the SP.

Amar Singh’s clout did help the party in expanding its sphere of influence and increasing its visibility even beyond the Hindi heartland. It also, however, fuelled resentment within the party. Singh was eventually expelled in 2010 after a prolonged falling-out with the leadership.

Amar Singh and Nathwani are not quite the same, but they point toward the SP’s recurring dilemma. Corporate connections have previously also filled SP’s electoral war chests and offered it visibility far beyond the Hindi heartland. It has, however, always come at a price and left the party struggling to reconcile its ideological claims with the company it keeps.

Also read: Amar Singh: The wily Thakur who had friends across political spectrum

“Amar Singh was more of a political broker who helped the SP expand its sphere of influence. Nathwani is starkly different. His family ties with the BJP were out in the open, and it is not certain that his election to the Rajya Sabha will benefit the party beyond filling its coffers,” Vardhan said.