Lucknow, May 20 -- An unscheduled visit by two Dalit Congress leaders to the Lucknow residence of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday sparked intense speculation about potential political realignments in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.

Tanuj Punia, the Barabanki Lok Sabha MP and Rajendra Pal Gautam, who heads the Scheduled Caste department of the Congress, were turned back from Mayawati's gated residence because they did not have an appointment.

Some suggested that the impromptu visit could have been a trial balloon for a new coalition. Punia rejected any such suggestion, insisting that their spontaneous gesture reflected their personal respect for the ageing community elder, and not politics.

"Gauta...