UP Cong desperate to cast its 'maya' on dalits
By Sanjay Pandey
The Congress is out of power in UP for the past two decades, but in
the last year's Lok Sabha elections, it was able to make a small dent
in the BSP's vote bank. Congress' victory in dalit-dominated Barabanki
and Unnao constituencies was enough to unsettle the BSP.
When Rahul Gandhi declared at a Congress party rally in Uttar Pradesh
recently that 'ab hum pichey hatne wale nahin' (we are not going to go
back now) and the BSP leaders took a pledge that the Congress must be
'demolished' in UP, it only indicated that the battle for the dalit
votes in this politically crucial state is all set to intensify in the
days to come.
Although the next Assembly polls in UP is a good two years away, the
Congress and the BSP have already sounded the election bugle and begun
their preparations.
Buoyed by its 'unexpectedly good showing' in the 2009 general
elections in UP, the Congress feels that it could spring a surprise in
the 2012 polls in the state if it is able to wean away a sizeable
portion of the dalit votes, which constitutes about 21 per cent, from
the BSP fold.
The Congress is out of power in UP for the past two decades, but in
the last year's Lok Sabha elections, it was able to make a small dent
in the BSP's vote bank. Congress' victory in dalit-dominated Barabanki
and Unnao constituencies was enough to unsettle the BSP.
In the name of Ambedkar
The BSP is also perturbed over the Congress' attempt to woo the dalits
in the name of their icon B R Ambedkar. The Congress' decision to
launch the statewide 'chetna yatra' on 125th birth anniversary of
Ambedkar and that too from a town named after him was a pointer in
this direction. For the first time in decades, a photograph of
Ambedkar found its place on the Congress platform.
Incidentally, the BSP also launched its nationwide protest against the
Women Reservation Bill on the same day. The BSP's programme in
Ambedkar Nagar was held at a venue barely yards away from that of the
Congress.
As the race to project themselves as the true followers of Ambedkar
heats up, the BSP has accused Congress of 'back stabbing' Ambedkar and
never according him the respect he deserved. The Congress has hit back
at the BSP, saying that Mayawati was projecting herself as a taller
leader than Ambedkar as her statues dotting the state were bigger than
that of the dalit icon.
Besides, much to the discomfiture of the BSP, Rahul Gandhi has been
visiting dalit households regularly and trying to 'expose' the
Mayawati government on its alleged failure to properly implement the
Centre's flagship MNREGA scheme.
Political pundits believe that the BSP knows too well that any dent in
its vote bank could cost it dearly in the 2012 Assembly polls and
hence, after the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, it has gone back to
its dalit agenda with a vengeance.The state government has directed
its officials to speed up development works in 'Ambedkar Villages.'
The party's most visible Brahmin face, S C Mishra has been sidelined
and made chairman of the party's legal cell. He has been asked to
focus on the court cases faced by Mayawati.
Recently, around 75 government lawyers who were Brahmins, were sacked
triggering speculation that the BSP was distancing itself from the
community. Party general secretary Naseemuddin Siddique has, however,
claimed that the BSP continued to hold the community in due respect.
It was the formidable Brahmin-Dalit combination, which the political
experts termed as a clever mode of 'social engineering,' that saw the
BSP catapult to power in the 2007 Assembly polls with an absolute
majority in UP for any single party after a gap of 17 years.
But the combine failed to work its magic in the subsequent Lok Sabha
polls, leading to apprehensions among the BSP leaders that the dalits
were turning away from the party owing to its 'pro-Brahmin stance.'
While the BSP appears to be totally confused at the moment, there is
no such predicament before the Congress, which is focussed on the
dalit voters. As the assembly poll date nears, the tug-of-war between
the two parties is bound to escalate.
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