Proof behind the pudding

The blue elephant has trampled the imaginary wish-lists of all political parties in UP. Next   thundering step: Delhi

Pradeeep Kapoor Lucknow

During the run up to the UP assembly elections, Mayawati knew exactly what people wanted to hear: “I will arrest Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh the moment I come to power.” She sensed that the big issue in UP was not only crime and instability but deep revulsion for Mulayam Singh and his cronies.

This is the reason why everyone perceived to be close to Mulayam Singh during his three-year reign was roundly punished. It is widely believed that tacit or overt links with the Samajwadi Party (SP) led to the downfall of the Congress, BJP, the Left and others who played footsie with the party. Even BJP's Kalyan Singh, who serenaded with Mulayam Singh in the 2002 elections, could not escape the people's wrath.

To sum it up, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ramesh Dixit termed the mandate for the 2007 assembly elections as a verdict against the “caste and criminal politics” of the SP, “communal politics” of the BJP and the “dynastic rule of the Nehru-Gandhi family”. Atul Anjaan, the CPI leader whose party was completely wiped out along with the CPM, argued that the mandate was against the political instability that has prevailed in the state since 1992; it also reflects a rejection of the opportunist coalitions of political extortionists who have ruled UP for almost two decades.

Mayawati managed to earn the approval of upper caste Brahmins, whom she was wooing aggressively through her efficient 'Brahmin lieutenant', Satish Chandra Mishra. She also used Sudhir Goel and Naseemuddin Siddiqui to mobilise the trading community and the Muslims. 

Will this social engineering experiment succeed in the future? The Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal believes that this trend will not last long as it was only a political arrangement, made specifically for electoral gains, and will not translate at the larger social level. The only reason why the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) succeeded is because Mayawati was able to project herself as the best alternative to Mulayam Singh, he argues.

Nirmal Khattri, All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary, says Mayawati gained immensely from the efficient functioning of the Election Commission (EC) which managed relatively free and fair polls for the first time in UP. That is why, thousands of Dalit voters could come out and cast their votes fearlessly. The Former Congress MLA from Baghpat, KK Sharma, told Hardnews that thanks to the EC in western UP, Dalit voters, for the first time since Independence, could cast their votes.

It is worth pointing out that the first case of booth capturing in India was repo-rted from Chhaprauli in western UP in 1952. As is the oppressive code of the feudal caste system, Dalits were not allowed to vote by the powerful Jats of the area. However, this time, the seven phase polls and the presence of 60,000 strong para-military-forces made a marked difference.

Mayawati secured 30.46 per cent of the vote share. She compulsively sees everything from the point of view of caste, as was evident by the fact that after her victory, she presented her lieutenants to the media by mentioning their caste and religion.  Mayawati not only made her close confidante Satish Chandra Mishra the second most important cabinet minister holding many key portfolios, but also appointed other Brahmins and upper-caste members to crucial positions. In order to retain her hold over the upper castes, Mayawati said her government would support reservation for economically weak people from the upper castes.