BSP, Cong laocked in a keen battle to woo Dalits
13 Apr 2010, 2301 hrs IST,Man Mohan Rai,ET Bureau
LUCKNOW: Though the crucial 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh
are almost two years away but the clarion call for the big battle
would be
given on Wednesday by the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress,
which is increasingly occupying the vocal opposition space in the
state.
The Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi would be flagging of his
party's 'yatra' (long march) in 10 different directions of the state
from BSP czarina Mayawati's hometurf of Ambedkar Nagar on Wednesday,
which significantly is the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar.
Rahul Gandhi who has increasingly been concentrating to win back the
state for his party seems to have chosen the day and date purposefully
to take on Mayawati.
Ambedkar Nagar holds special significance in the BSP lexicon. Besides
having a large Dalit population, it has twice been represented by
Mayawati in the past. The Chief Minister had earlier also renamed the
district known as Akbarpur to Ambedkar Nagar after the Dalit icon.
Choosing the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar to launch the party
campaign is also symbolically important, as the Congress has been
looking to dent the Dalit votebank of Mayawati.
Not to be outdone Mayawati, who has often seen red over Rahul Gandhi's
efforts to woo her devoted Dalit votebank, has also declared the start
of her party's political campaign from the same place and day raising
political temperatures in the state.
Mayawati has called on her party cadre to hold demonstration against
the Women's Reservation Bill, a subject close of the Congress chief
Sonia Gandhi's heart, in all districts of the state on Wednesday.
Mayawati has even declared that she would be under taking an aerial
survey of the party demonstration across the state and BSP sources say
that she might even land up in Ambedkar Nagar taking everyone by
surprise.
After this the BSP would be holding a series of demonstrations, aimed
at the Congress and its "anti-Dalit mindset", in one district after
another starting May onwards till the year end, which would cover the
entire state.
With the Congress 'yatra' also expected to cover all districts of UP
over the next few months both the party's would be locked in a keen
political confrontation.
Already the party cadres in Ambedkar Nagar have been locked in a
tussle over putting up their posters and banners and things are
expected to intensify as the campaign of the two parties proceed.
Mayawati who after sensing disquiet in the BSPs committed Dalit
votebank over her social engineering experiment to bring Brahmins and
Dalits together has now gone back to the party basics.
While Rahul Gandhi hoped to cash in on this unrest among the Dalits
over Mayawati's social engineering experiments, she was quick to allay
their apprehensions. Her move to sideline trusted lieutenant and the
party's Brahmin face Satish Chandra Mishra was seen in the same light.
Chief Minister Mayawati has now sharply turned back her focus on
Dalits and to counter any move by the Congress to try and dent her
votebank. But with the Congress under Rahul Gandhi bent on taking the
battle to Mayawati's court the political scene has already intensified
in the state much ahead of the assembly polls.
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