BATTLEGROUND UP - Part C
Apart from the caste factor, communal
politics too has been a hallmark of UP politics. The BJP which rose to
prominence after the demolition of the Babri
Masjid has promised to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya in its poll
manifesto for 2012. Though nothing was done in this regard during the time that
the NDA was in power at the Centre, the party is hoping that Lord Ram may help it regain its
lost hold in the state. The move to go to polls in Uttar Pradesh under the
leadership of Hindutva firebrand
Uma Bharathi is being looked upon by many as an attempt to consolidate the
Hindu votes in favor of the saffron outfit, more so, after other parties have
promised a list of soaps for the minority community. Also, the party leaders
have so far avoided making any provocative statement against the Muslim
community, unlike Varun Gandhi in 2009, damaging all prospects of the party.
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| Salman Rushdie |
However, the war to get the Muslim
votes, that constitute 20% of UP's population has intensified amongst the other
three parties - SP, BSP and Congress. With the Babri Masjid verdict going
against the community, anger seems to be simmering within the
community. In the past, Mulayam has relied on the Muslim-Yadav votes to
come to power in UP. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, though, a significant chunk
of the party's Muslim support base deserted to the Congress. Realizing
that such a trend could be detrimental to his interest in the future, the SP
supremo banished Kalyan Singh from the party, who was at the helm of affairs
during the demolition of Babri
Masjid. Azam Khan who was expelled from the SP due to differences with Amar
Singh has been roped back into the party fold, thereby boosting Mulayam's
chances of coming to power in UP. Even Behenji has announced a host of initiatives to
appease the Muslims community.
The Congress too has left no stone
unturned to impress the Muslim voters. Salman Khurshid, the Minister for
Minority Affairs had earlier promised that his party would provide reservations
for the Muslims if elected to power in Uttar Pradesh but backtracked his
statement after many accused the Congress of playing the minority card to its
advantage. The party is also raking the Batla House encounter issue which
evokes passion among the Muslims in the state who allege that the police
actions were uncalled for and the men who died has no terrorist links
whatsoever, for political gains. Rahul has accused the SP and the BSP of not
doing enough for the Muslims of the state over the years and has urged them to
support him in this elections.
Ironically, the most high profile victim
of the communal politics of UP this time around was well renowned writer,
Salman Rushdie. The author of the banned book, Satanic Verses was supposed to
come down to India earlier this year to be a part of the Jaipur Literature
Fest. However, due to mounting protest from Islamic leaders and fear of losing
the Muslim votes in UP, the UPA government was caught in a catch 22 situation
as any move to facilitate Rushdie's entry or stay in India would not
go well with the minorities. Annoyed by the government's apathy, Rushdie called
off his trip claiming that his sources had warned him that assassins had been
hired to eliminate him while in Jaipur. Also the Rajasthan government
was said to play a key role in the cancellation of video link between Rushdie
and the Literature fest. The BJP has accused the UPA of politicizing the whole
issue for electoral gains. However, the Sangh Parivar had launched a similar
witch hunt against painter M F Hussain some years back, forcing him to flee to
London and then accept citizenship of Qatar.
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| D P Yadav |
Though it may have failed on multiple
fronts, the BSP government has been credited for improving the law and order
situation in Uttar Pradesh. Under the erstwhile Mulayam regime, 'Goonda Raj' was prevalent across the
state and the whole system was filled with goons and people with criminal
background. However, Maya has been able to sternly deal with this issue and her
administration has been relatively cleaner. In fact, the hooliganism under
the SP government has been used by the BSP to counter anti-incumbency. Well
aware of the fact that SP's image as a party of goons may cost it dearly in the
2012 polls, Akhilesh Yadav is said to have personally intervened and vetoed
against Western UP's don D P Yadav's entry into the Samajwadi Party.
All major political parties have fielded candidates with criminal records.
Prominent amongst these include Kaptan Singh Rajput, Bhagwan Sharma and Mehboob
Ali of the SP, Ram Sewak Patel, Indra Pratap Tiwari and Manjo Tiwari of the
BSP, Kalawati Bind, Babban Rajbhar and Ajai Rai of the Congress and Radhey Sham
Gupta, Lallu Singh and Santram Senger of the BJP. After being snubbed by the
SP, D P Yadav has decided to contest as a candidate of the Rashtriya Parivartan
Dal. Relatively smaller parties too have followed the precedent set by the
larger parties. Dons of Eastern UP Mukhtar Ansari and Brijesh Singh are also in
the fray and have got tickets from Qaumi Ekta and Pragatisheel Manav Samaj
Party respectively. Khurmi outfit Apna Dal has fielded Munna Bajrangi and Atia
Ahmad who have criminal cases against them.
With her eyes on the polls, the Mayawati government passed a resolution in the
state assembly asking the Centre to break-up the mega state into four smaller
states for administrative purposes. According to the proposal, the new
states would be Poorvanchal (Eastern UP), Harit Pradesh (Western UP),
Bundelkhand and Awadh Pradesh (Central UP). Many have questioned Behenji's
commitment towards the cause as they believe that the move has ulterior
motives. In fact most of the parties seem to have been stumped by Maya's
political acumen.
 |
| Mayawati's proposal to split Uttar Pradesh |
By sending the proposal to the Centre,
the BSP has certainly put the ball in the Congress's court. Knowing that the
Congress had earlier made a mess of the Telangana statehood issue with
different leaders speaking in different tunes, Mayawati has put the Congress on
a sticky wicket. In case the Centre approves Maya's proposal, it could open
a Pandora's box and demands for statehood from other parts of the
country. However, if the government rejects it then Congress will be portrayed
as anti-UP by the BSP. As such the party has not yet made its stand clear on
this issue. On the other hand, the SP has always opposed any division of the
state on the grounds that such a move could diminish the political influence of
the state in national politics. The party, which was also against the creation
of Uttarakhand has made it clear that it will fight against any division of the
state. The BJP which has always supported the creation of smaller states has
demanded that the division should be done after setting up a state
reorganization committee.
Another big poll issue this election season is the statues of Mayawati, Kanshi Ram and Dr Ambedkar that have been erected in different places throughout the state by the BSP government with money got from the public exchequer. The BSP supremo has claimed that such a move is in the interest of the lower classes as Dr Ambedkar and BSP founder Kanshi Ram have been looked upon by the ordinary Dalits as their heroes. As far as her own statues are concerned, Behenji says that these were erected according to the wishes of her mentor late Shri Kanshi Ram. Going a step further, at an election rally in Lucknow, Maya declared that under her government the state's capital was transformed into Paris due to the construction of the parks.
However, the opposition has been united in condemning this move of the state government. Mulayam Singh has declared publicly that he will bulldoze Mayawati's statues if he comes back to power. Even the BJP has claimed that it will replace Maya's statues with those of spiritual leaders and social reformers. The Election Commission too has asked the Maya regime to cover her statues and that of her party's election symbol, the elephant ahead of the polls. Maya has accused the her opponents and the EC of being biased towards the Dalits and has asked the people to teach the opposition a lesson in the upcoming polls.
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| Mayawati's statues |
The Mayawati statues have been one of
the several self-glorification exercises by the Dalit leader in the
last five years. In 2010, the UP CM was presented with a garland of Rs 1000
notes by her ministers at a rally attended by countless admirers. In its India
cables, WikiLeaks reported an incident where the BSP leader sent a private jet
to Mumbai to fetch sandals of her preferred brand. It also claimed that she had
constructed a private road from her house to her office which is cleaned each
day and that she employs food tasters as she fears that she may be assassinated
by poisoning. Meanwhile, Maya has refuted the allegations and has advised
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to undergo mental treatment.
The Bhatta-Parsaul agitation against forcible land grabbing by hte BSP
government may cost the party, especially in the farming belt of Western UP.
Several villagers were allegedly killed by the police in the agitation and
their womenfolk were molested. The issue soon snowballed into a huge
controversy with the Congress and the BJP trying to use this issue to counter
Mayawati. Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh who led a protest march to the
village were arrested by the state officials. Rahul claimed to have seen an ash
mound where bodies of dead villagers were supposedly burnt by the security
staff to cover up the whole incident. However, investigations later proved that
such claims were baseless. Even BJP leader Arun Jaitely was arrested before
arriving in the village to assess the situation. Sensing that she could lose
the support of the farmers from Western UP, Mayawati announced a new land
acquisition policy in the state where private parties would themselves acquire
land from its owners whwereas the state government would just act as a
facilitator.
Lastly, another peculiar feature of the elections in Uttar Pradesh this time
around is the number of smaller parties that are in the fray that could spoil
the prospects of several parties. The most prominent among these is the Ajit
Singh's RLD. The party has a strong support base in Western UP, especially
amongst the Jat farmers. Over the years, the RLD has been in alliance with the
SP and the BJP in the past. However, the party walked out of the NDA and joined
the UPA in December, 2011. Under the arrangement, Ajit Singh was made the Union
Minister for Aviation at the Centre. The Congress is hoping that the pre-poll
alliance would benefit both the sides.
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| RLD's Ajit Singh |
Rashtriya Lokmanch Party's chief Amar
Singh is canvassing heavily in different parts of the state for his party's
candidates in spite of not keeping well lately, accusing Mulayam Singh of
betraying him. The party's main campaigner is Bollywood beauty Jaya Prada who
is campaigning in Rampur against the local SP leader and her political foe Azam
Khan. Even former CM Kalyan Singh has hit out at other parties while on the
campaign trail. He has calimed that the BJP will never be able to come to power
in UP. The Jan Kranti Party leader has handed over the reins of his party to
his son Ranveer.
The Peace Party of India, the Bundelkhand Congress and the Apna Dal have come
together to forge an alliance named the 'Rashtriya Morcha' to fight the
political biggies. The Peace Party was founded by surgeon Mohammad Ayub to
unite the Muslims and the Backward classes. Its chief aim is to prevent the
political exploitation of these communities by other parties. Actor turned
politician Raja Bundela of the Bundela Congress is hopeful that it will do well
in the Bundelkhand region. The Khurmi outfit, Apna Dal is hoping to bounce
from the set back that it received after the tragic death of its president Sone
Lal Patel in a road accident in 2009. The party under Patel's daughter Krishna
Patel is hoping to emerge from the shadows of the BSP and muster as many seats
as possible. According to the arrangement, the Peace Party would contest a
majority of 240 seats and the alliance is hoping to get the Muslim, Dalit, Kshatriya and Khurmi votes.
Several other regional
parties have come together to form a grand alliance, 'Ittehadi Front'. Its major constituents include
Bharatiya Samaj Party, Quami Ekta Dal, Ittehad-e-Millet Council, Gondwana
Ganatantra Party, Indian Justice Party, Bharatiya Janseva Party and so on. The
Front has the blessings of Maulana Syed Salman Nadvi, a member of the All India
Muslim Personal law Board. Though the Peace Party and its allies were to be a
part of this combine, there were later expelled due to differences over a range
of issues.
Though the issues are many it will be interesting to see how Uttar Pradesh
votes. Poll pundits have predicted that the state may be heading towards a hung
assembly. Knowing that a friendly government in Lucknow is essential for a
sound and stable government in New Delhi, all four major players will give it
all to be in contention in the process of government formation. We will
have to keep our fingers crossed till 6th March to see who is crowned as the
King of Uttar Pradesh. Hopefully the new government will sincerely work to
solve the problems that plague the people and make Uttar Pradesh an 'Uttam
Pradesh'.
More on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2012
More on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2012
SOURCES
(2) Times of India - Mayawati's plan to
divide and rule Uttar Pradesh may be split in four parts (Link)
IMAGES
(1) Salman Rushdie
Source - First Post.Life - Hari Kunzu, Amitava Kumar read out from
Rushidie's Satanic Verses - (Link)
(2) D P Yadav
Source - News 24 - Akhilesh lacks
political maturity - D P Yadav - (Link)
(3) Mayawati's proposal to split Uttar
Pradesh
Source - Pravasi Today (Link)
(4) Mayawati's statues
Source : NDTV - UP Polls - Mayawati's
statues to be draped today after Election Commission's Order (Link)
(5) RLD's Ajit Singh
Samay Live - Ajit Singh, Nachiketas
dismiss Wikileaks claims (Link)
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