Lucknow/New Delhi: Not even 24 hours have passed since BSP head Mayawati said that she would be interested to be a part of the alliance with the Samajwadi party, as a part of the proposed, nationwide Mahagathbandhan, only if her party's share of seats is 'respectable', and Akhilesh Yadav has issued at least two statements that mean different things.

First, Yadav told reporters in Lucknow.on Monday, “Everyone is fed up of BJP and they want it out of power. I want to assure you that alliance will happen in UP. Let the time come… We are confident of forming an alliance for 2019 elections. The opposition wants the BJP to be defeated in the next general elections.”

If that was reassuring for those banking on the forever-in-the-making Mahagathbandhan to oust the Narendra Modi government, he then told a television channel he was ill at ease playing the second fiddle in a coalition.

Remember, earlier this month, on September 5 to be precise, Yadav had said that the onus of forging the proposed alliance was on Mayawati-led BSP and not on his SP.

Meanwhile, a news medium has reported that the SP is mulling over offering 36 seats to the BSP while it will keep 32 with itself, leaving the rest for the Congress and Ajit Singh's INLD. However, the quote has been attributed to an unnamed "SP leader", making its authenticity questionable.

Recall that Mayawati had said on Sunday she was not a "bua" (father's sister) to any one and that "some people try to forge such relationships with politics playing in their minds", which was clearly a reference to Yadav. In the meantime, notorious Chandrashekhar Azad 'Ravan' of Saharanpur, whose proclivity to foment trouble in his area sees him going in and out of jail, is reported to be no longer in the good books of Mayawati. When Azad had created a riot-like situation in his area last year, a conduit of Mayawati was alleged to have helped him in the misadventure. According to some commentators romanticising with the Mahagathbandhan, Mayawati's statement "I am nobody's bua" was directed at 'Ravan'.

It's not Ravan's Bhim Army alone. Dalit Yuva Dal, Dalit Federation, Dalit Caravan, Ambedkar Army, Dalit Revolution and Dalit Rising are some of many political parties and activist groups emerging on the scene of Uttar Pradesh that threaten to claim shares of the BSP's Dalit vote bank. With that in mind, Yadav is going to negotiate for more seats for his SP.