Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo and three-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mulayam Singh Yadav, who successfully brought together OBC votes in his home State, tried a political experiment in Karnataka too, though not successfully.
While he continued to maintain a good relationship with the Janata Parivar leaders, especially former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, he launched SP in Karnataka. Initially, he is learnt to have believed the party had space in OBC politics here.