The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister came to power with loads of promise and hope, for the party and for the State's development. But vested interests haven’t given him space, denting his political efficacy
Many observers had believed that, with some eight months to go for the Assembly election, the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh received a double dose of vitality pills with the exit of a prominent backward class leader, Swami Prasad Maurya, from the rival Bahujan Samaj Party, and the merger of infamous don Mukhtar Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal (QED) with the Samajwadi Party. But it took only days for the euphoria to unravel. Maurya did not promptly join the Samajwadi Party despite Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav describing him as a “good person” who had been in the “wrong party”. Instead, Maurya was said to have renewed his contacts with the Bharatiya Janata Party even as the doors to the Samajwadi Party remained open. But, if Maurya’s case had been work-in-progress, the QED merger turned out to be a disaster and a major embarrassment for the ruling party. The marriage was called off even before it was consummated, because Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav put his foot down and said the party would be better off without the Mukhtar Ansari link. “We don’t want such people”, he stated.
The Samajwadi Party’s spin masters have had a harrowing time explaining the fiasco. One senior leader said the reversal of the merger demonstrated the ‘strong democratic credentials’ of the party. It’s difficult to understand how. Senior leaders of the party including Shivpal Yadav had hatched the merger plot and received party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s blessing. Clearly, none of them had thought it fit then to take the Chief Minister on board; they went a step further and publicly announced the merger. But when the media went to town with the development and the Chief Minister made his displeasure known by sacking one of his Ministers, Balram Yadav, who is said to have facilitated the merger process, the party quickly summoned its parliamentary board meeting and decided to call off the merger. Akhilesh Yadav’s supporters also made sure that the Chief Minister’s annoyance with his Minister for Jail, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, who had reportedly directed Mukhtar Ansari’s transfer from the Agra to the lucknow prison, was put in the public domain.
This discordance is not just about the Chief Minister versus some of his senior Ministers; it’s also about political friction within the family. It’s here that the developments assume a larger importance. It has never been a secret that Akhilesh Yadav rarely sees eye-to-eye on political matters with his uncle Shivpal Yadav or those others (like Mohammed Azam Khan) that are considered close to the uncle. The Chief Minister is, on the other hand, relatively comfortable with the other uncle, Ram Gopal Yadav. Add to this the fact that party supremo and the Chief Minister’s father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, has on numerous occasions over the past four years, publicly berated his son for poor governance, and you have a situation where members of Uttar Pradesh’s first political family are busy more at settling scores with one another than in taking on the might of opponents such as the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Samajwadi party spokespersons will vehemently deny the insinuation, but that’s the truth.
The other truth is that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has emerged in a positive light after the merger was scrapped. Perhaps that was the idea of his camp followers. That his stand came in the run-up to the Assembly election may not be entirely a coincidence. It may be recalled that weeks before the 2012 Assembly election, he had similarly blocked the entries of muscleman DP Yadav and Haseemuddin Siddiqui, brother of Naseeruddin Siddiqui, tainted Minister in the then Bahujan Party’s Government, into the Samajwadi Party. Interestingly, then too, the arrival of the two controversial leaders had been planned by Shivpal Yadav and Mohammed Azam Khan.
Akhilesh Yadav was then not the Chief Minister. He was not even the official chief ministerial face of his party. But seniors like his father had realised that, if the Samajwadi Party had to dislodge Mayawati’s Government, it would have to be freshly recast with somebody like Akhilesh Yadav at the forefront. It is for this reason that party seniors bowed to Akhilesh Yadav’s demand and blocked Siddiqui and DP Yadav from entering the Samajwadi Party. It proved to be a sensible decision, and when the Samajwadi Party won with a big majority, there was no doubt who the hero was. Akhilesh Yadav became the Chief Minister.
In retrospect, it becomes clear that the old guard had backed off as a tactical ploy. Once the election was won and Akhilesh Yadav became Chief Minister, it didn’t take the group long to re-establish its influence. The new Chief Minister’s failure to sustain his assertive posture contributed to the development. The ministry’s composition, with the likes of Shivpal Yadav and Mohammed Azam Khan in senior positions, made it known that Akhilesh Yadav would not be his own man. Many subsequent developments proved the fear. It is difficult to believe that the administration would have handled crises such as the Muzaffarnagar riots and the Mathura carnage in the inept manner that it did, had the Chief Minister commanded an uncontested say. It’s not surprising that in both these incidents, the role of Shivpal Yadav and Azam Khan came under the scanner.
The present capitulation over Mukhtar Ansari’s party must be, thus, viewed similarly. With an election round the corner, the old guard has once again beaten a tactful retreat. It’s bound to bounce back if the Samajwadi Party returns to power — and that’s a big ‘if’ for the moment. There are many issues going against the ruling dispensation: Anti-incumbency, deterioration in law and order; a resurgent BJP; a confident BSP; disturbance in the Yadav-Muslim combination, with deep discontent among the Muslim community over the Government’s functioning; and the possible flight of upper caste votes to rival parties. Akhilesh Yadav flattered to deceive in his first term. Will it be any different in case he gets a second term despite everythingIJ
In the issue of The Pioneer dated January 12, 2012, this columnist had noted: “…it is certain that Akhilesh Yadav will face challenges from within the party and even the family in recasting the Samajwadi Party. let’s see whether he succeeds or is eventually done in by his foes.” This was before the victory. As has been noted earlier, the young politician failed to rise to the occasion. In many ways, therefore, the coming election will be a test not just for the Samajwadi Party but also — and more so — for Akhilesh Yadav. There are many within the party who wish to see him fail.
(The writer is a senior journalist and commentator)