Akhilesh Yadav loses his throne, can he remain sultan of SP?
LUCKNOW: The years when Mulayam Singh Yadav was in charge of Uttar Pradesh always seemed to reinforce the feeling that Netaji's rule meant 'Yadav raj', cronyism and lawlessness. Son Akhilesh attempted to correct this image deficit by taking on the old guard and its “old politics“ and by softening the party's caste dependency. But Saturday showed these up as politically inadequate.
The 2017 mandate has created doubts about the 43-year-old's leadership and political acumen. With no returns to show for the high-profile internecine feud or for embracing the Congress, Akhilesh is set to face serious questions, the challenge compounded by the fact that the poll defeat will embolden inhouse rivals like uncle Shivpal. Already, Shivpal, ousted as state party president by his nephew, has described the party's defeat as a mandate against the “arrogance“ of the party leadership.
The post-defeat years will test Akhilesh as a politician. The chief ministership came on a platter after the 2012 victory under Mulayam's leadership. Now, he is on his own. And the challenges are massive, not the least the return to pole position of BJP that adroitly melded Mandal and Kamandal into a winning formula. In light of this, the traditional rivalry against BSP is a smaller challenge.
Akhilesh's decision on an alliance with the Congress is being closely assessed. His father had openly expressed his disapproval on the move, as had uncle Shivpal. As an example of the sort of questioning his decisions will face in the coming days, Ravidas Mehrotra, the party candidate from Lucknow Central, complained, “I would have won the election, but for the Congress. Its candidate refused to withdraw despite our alliance and ensured my defeat.“
Akhilesh has been decisive in opting for a new political agenda for SP. He tried to ease the caste identity of his father's platform, preferred to contest on the development plank, sewed up an alliance with the Congress, even threw his wife Dimple into the battle as a star campaigner -all against the wisdom of his anti-Congress father who always banked on social engineering and never on a woman family member to garner votes. And that is a page, many believe, which cannot be turned back. So, Akhilesh has his task cut out. And the urgency could not be greater. He has just two years before the 2019 general elections to come up with a party idiom that can prove competitive in the BJP era.
The 2017 mandate has created doubts about the 43-year-old's leadership and political acumen. With no returns to show for the high-profile internecine feud or for embracing the Congress, Akhilesh is set to face serious questions, the challenge compounded by the fact that the poll defeat will embolden inhouse rivals like uncle Shivpal. Already, Shivpal, ousted as state party president by his nephew, has described the party's defeat as a mandate against the “arrogance“ of the party leadership.
The post-defeat years will test Akhilesh as a politician. The chief ministership came on a platter after the 2012 victory under Mulayam's leadership. Now, he is on his own. And the challenges are massive, not the least the return to pole position of BJP that adroitly melded Mandal and Kamandal into a winning formula. In light of this, the traditional rivalry against BSP is a smaller challenge.
Akhilesh's decision on an alliance with the Congress is being closely assessed. His father had openly expressed his disapproval on the move, as had uncle Shivpal. As an example of the sort of questioning his decisions will face in the coming days, Ravidas Mehrotra, the party candidate from Lucknow Central, complained, “I would have won the election, but for the Congress. Its candidate refused to withdraw despite our alliance and ensured my defeat.“
Akhilesh has been decisive in opting for a new political agenda for SP. He tried to ease the caste identity of his father's platform, preferred to contest on the development plank, sewed up an alliance with the Congress, even threw his wife Dimple into the battle as a star campaigner -all against the wisdom of his anti-Congress father who always banked on social engineering and never on a woman family member to garner votes. And that is a page, many believe, which cannot be turned back. So, Akhilesh has his task cut out. And the urgency could not be greater. He has just two years before the 2019 general elections to come up with a party idiom that can prove competitive in the BJP era.
