Budgeting for early polls

UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's populist budget make state's politicians go fast forward

Pradeep Kapoor Lucknow

While Uttar Pradesh's (UP) Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has talked about moving a no-confidence motion in Parliament on the Iran issue to take on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, he surprised his detractors as well as political opposition when he presented what is being termed as a populist budget. Was this please-all budget signalling that he wanted early assembly elections?

Although the elections are scheduled for February 2007, an impression nevertheless is gaining ground across the political spectrum that the current leadership is fast-forwarding this process in UP. Considering the importance of this Hindi-speaking cow belt state, capturing power here is considered necessary to grab power at the national level.The popular adage still holds that one cannot rule India without ruling UP.

A battle royale thus is in the offing to capture this all-important state. Mulayam's budgetary announcement of Rs 500 per month as unemployment dole to educated youth registered with the state's employment exchanges clearly indicates his intent to recapture power at the state-level with the help of the youth. UP, in fact, is the first state to announce an unemployment dole for lakhs of educated unemployed with employment exchanges. This allowance would be distributed from April 1, 2006.

After presenting the budget on February 15, the chief minister indicated his intention to make it a national issue as well and has written two letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard. No prizes for guessing what he's appealing for.  The state's coffers are empty to even fund welfarist schemes, leave alone development priorities.

Mulayam has also repeatedly asked his party workers and leaders to spread the message of his party's ideology and achievements of the state government during the last two years. He also sought two names of winnable candidates from each constituency so that the process of selection of candidates should start, besides repeatedly convening meetings of frontal organisations and exhorting them to fight political rivals and take out a cycle yatra in their areas to spread the message.

Besides budgetary populism, Mulayam has also attempted to win over different sections of society through announcing various concessions and holidays. He announced a public holiday to celebrate the birthday of Maharisi Parsuram to win over Brahmins and prevent them from going towards the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The tainted thakur leader Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya, who was released from a POTA case, was also re-inducted to consolidate his hold over thakurs.

 Concessions were also provided to baniya, prajapati and other castes.
Mulayam's attempts to pander to the Muslim votebank — which also includes his curious silence over state minister Haji Yakoob's fatwa to behead the offending Danish cartoonist — rather than embarrass the UPA government underlies his attempt to move a no-confidence motion on the Iran issue in Parliament. Despite calls from the Congress and the left to sack this minister, he has so far refused to oblige as this community is crucial in determining the electoral outcome in as many as 125 constituencies in UP.

While the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) is keen to go to the hustings, the only political formation that is ready for this is the BSP. Satish Chandra Mishra, MP and national general secretary of BSP, said, "We are ready to face the elections whenever they take place." "Since the wind is blowing in our favour things would be more difficult for Mulayam and his party with each passing day," he added.