http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/up-division-mayawati-bsp-mulayam-singh-trs/1/161053.html
Headlines Today Bureau New Delhi/Lucknow, November 22, 2011 | UPDATED 15:27 IST
BSP chief Mayawati eyes bigger role in national politics with move to
divide Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati believes and often claims that
she is cut out for the nation's top job. Is dividing UP her first
concrete move to seek a role beyond running a state?
Reorganising UP might be long overdue, but Mayawati has got her
mathematics right. Her core Dalit vote remains intact in spite of the
move.
Supporting the BSP government move, former Samajwadi Party (SP) leader
Amar Singh said: "Division of UP will be in favour of people. Why SP
is against it is beyond my understanding. Even Ram Manohar Lohia was
also in favour of small states. I thank Mayawati for this move."
By sounding the division bell, Mayawati has won herself some fans in
and even outside the state.
Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who has been
heading a campaign for a separate Telangana state, said: "I appreciate
and welcome the decision of Mayawati to divide UP. She also spoke in
favour of Telangana so we are thankful to her."
Analysts say in UP where the party and the government are virtually
the same, the proposal means that Mayawati has set her eyes beyond the
state. Helping her along is the Congress's ham-handed handling of the
Telangana issue, which is further fuelling the demand for smaller
states.
Maya's vote bank
The Third Front might have been routed in the general elections in
2009, but Mayawati's dream of prime ministership is still alive. She
would evidently benefit most as her vote-bank, which is no longer just
restricted to Dalits but also includes upper caste Brahmins, would be
spread in all four states.
Dalits are evenly spread throughout the state with 18.17 per cent
presence in western UP or Paschim Pradesh, 21.15 per cent in eastern
UP or Purvanchal, 25.14 per cent in Bundelkhand region and 26.1 per
cent in central UP or Awadh Pradesh.
SP may suffer post-division
Perhaps the one party that would suffer the most due to this decision
would be the SP, an archrival of the BSP in the state. Party chief
Mulayam Singh Yadav's major seat is Etawah, which is in eastern
districts. However, in the new proposed states, he would not have one
major area where his vote bank would be concentrated.
The SP's around 10 to 12 per cent core Yadav vote is not uniform, with
one great chunk in the east and one in the Etawah-Mainpuri-Etah belt.
That means the party's base would split. This could mean other
backward castes and even Muslims ignoring a depleted SP.
Big challenge for Congress
The Congress, in particular, is in a bind. As the principal ruling
party at the Centre, it cannot readily support the UP demand without
further queering the pitch in Andhra Pradesh, where the agitation for
a separate Telangana state has virtually paralysed the administration.
On the other hand, doing well in the UP elections is equally important
since it could be the launch pad for Congress heir-apparent Rahul
Gandhi's move to a larger role at the national level.
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