Of all the four big contenders for upcoming Assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh, some political pundits think Bahujan Samaj Party stands a much brighter chance. It seems Mayawati is working with her typical dictatorial style of organizing and consolidating the party bases quietly. The rest-Bharatiya Janata Party, Samajwadi Party and the Congress are making all their political calculations for staging a comeback.
Mayawati mostly lives in hibernation with her all powerful and larger than life image of the sole Dalit leader of UP. Her attempt to win a magical rubric of the Dalits, Muslims and Brahmins which constitute 52 percent of the state’s population may help her winning back. Indeed her co-opting of the Brahmins into the party fold now has almost been institutionalised. She has proved to be a smart learner though many of her Dalit constituencies do not seem to be very comfortable with the Brahmins in the party. Also her tenures in power had the lesser number of communal, caste and political violence in comparison to the SP. It may boost her chances of wooing the voters. The ruling SP Government has miserably failed in controlling the goons who are mostly operating under the party banner. Anyway, ageing Mulayam has fulfilled his last hope of making his son as CM bypassing his own brother. Congress already a big loser by now may not stand any probability even if it projects Sheila Dixit as a CM candidate.
Considering Dalits as only vote banks by both the Congress and the BJP would tremendously bring losses to their electoral fortunes. For BJP to make a fresh start in UP under the leadership of Narendra Modi, first needs to declare a candidate for chief ministerial post who can match the charisma of Mayawati. Instead of making charity for the Dalits like that of the Congress, BJP must make them a dignified partner in the national development discourse. Dalits must feel they are not only approached for votes but also equally recognised as the larger part of the ‘thought bank’ of the nation. Finally, for Mayawati, the win is not going to be easier. It is sad that being the protégé of a veteran leader like Kanshi Ram, she has not done much on the ground to uplift her own community.