All the political parties are bracing up for the 2014 lok Sabha polls. Some predict that the elections will be held before schedule, others say UPA-II will complete its full tenure. Once again, the regional parties, mainly the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, are way ahead of their national counterparts — the Congress and the BJP — as far as poll preparedness is concerned. And the moment there is talk of elections, the caste factor starts looming large. Is is, therefore, not surprising that the perception has hardened that, in Uttar Pradesh, people do not cast their vote, they vote their caste. There is truth in this if we go by the recent trends.
Appeasement of the minority community is seen to play a major role in elections, whether it be the lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha polls. There is a virtual tug-of-war between the SP and the BSP over pleasing minorities. Each claims that it is a bigger saviour than the other.
Recently, the Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD) has also joined the race. Efforts are already under way to win over a senior Muslim leader Haji Yakub Ali to its fold so that the Jat party can project Ali as its Muslim face. A close look at the records of the Muslim leader shows that he has earned the reputation of being a major party hopper. He has been a Minister in both the SP and well as BSP Governments. No wonder, he is looking for greener pastures like the RlD which is readily stepping up its efforts to win him over for its kitty.
The ruling SP is already projecting Urban Development Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohd Azam Khan and Minister for Medical Health Ahmed Hasan as its Muslim face. The party has doled out a string of programmes for the welfare of the minorities. The State is trying to compete with Gujarat in providing facilities for Haj pilgrims.
A senior SP leader said: “Very soon, UP would have surpassed Gujarat in sending pilgrims for Haj.” Of course, this is not surprising as old-timers recall how the SP has always been identified for supporting the cause of the minorities. Remember in the past, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was popularly referred to as Maulana Mulayam.
Where there is SP, there’s BSP too. The party’s former Chief Minister Mayawati is second to none as far as minority appeasement is concerned. Her close and trusted lieutenant, former Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui, is the party’s Muslim face. But, Behenji recently held a series of closed-door meetings with her senior partymen in lucknow.
So, while on one hand, Mayawati is reaching out to the minorities through her aide Siddiqui, on the other, she is busy reviving the defunct Brahmin bhaichara committees for wooing the upper castes to the party fold. The caste balancing tactics of the BSP have set an example for many other smaller political outfits.
Even the BJP is holding on to its senior leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to win over the minorities. It goes without saying that the Congress is also projecting External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid as its Muslim face. Now, it is up to the minorities to decide who is their real friend.
Power games
The debate going on is who is stronger — the legislators or the bureaucratsIJ Well, no prizes for the right answer. Just the other day, an angry legislator denounced the role of officers at a public platform. Even Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav recently pulled up a senior officer for not paying heed to the problems faced by the public. The fallout of this came instantly and the Government removed the Director General of Police as complaints continuously poured in about the deteriorating law and order.
Mohd Azam Khan is known for his bouts of anger against erring bureaucrats. He does not miss a single opportunity in taking potshots at officers publicly.
Even as this war continues, the bureaucrats are all praise for the young Chief Minister, primarily because he is accessible to them as compared to his predecessor who was virtually kept the officers at a distance barring her blue-eyed boys. A senior officer did not hesitate in saying how Akhilesh Yadav had taken several measures which had been pending for a long time, including the revival of the defunct body of IAS Officers’ Association and promotion of about 127 Provincial Civil Services officers to the IAS cadre.
But what is needed is a more co-ordinated working between the legislators and officers for effective results.
Credit goes to...
The power corridors are abuzz with a burning question — who should be given credit for giving the go-ahead for the prestigious Yamuna Expressway, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav last year. The reason for the question stems from the fact that it was Mayawati who had flagged off the project which ran into corruption charges during its construction.
One may be surprised to know that the whispers in the corridors often refer to the Yamuna Expressway as Mayawati Marg. However, since it is clouded in controversy, the SP Government is keeping a distance despite the fact that it has made the project functional.