Brain Stormer: Unveiling the UP Poll Yatra

The BJP President Amit Shah launched the party’s much awaited poll campaign in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. He was indeed forthright in lambasting at the two main arch rivals of the BJP in the coming Assembly election-the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) by saying that the former if it returns to power will work for only one caste and the latter will work for its own development and not for any caste. And he pointed out that there is no development in the country because the Congress had ruled India for 60 years of its 70 years of independence and unfortunately under one Gandhi family. Finally, the astute Shah said that BJP can only bring what this State deserves and can take it to the road to development.

Of course true. UP had given a tremendous support to BJP by electing a record number of more than 70 MP’s to the Lok Sabha in the last parliamentary election. Since then the party is working hard to capture the State and if it can, it will set a new record of sort, particularly under Shah. However, in UP politics Mulayam and Mayawati are no small fishes-they matter a lot to many and they can make a big difference. To be precise, Mulayam has so far only serving his own family instead of working and sharing benefit to his own caste- Yadavs. His style of politics has already taken a beating and under son Akhilesh Yadav, the current Chief Minister of UP, the State is not moving anywhere as he is popularly known as half-CM only. His actions are guided by his father and the party patriarch Netaji, his two powerful uncles and finally the most indispensable Azam Khan. So the poor, Akhilesh’s hands are too tied. And Mayawati, who calls herself as ‘Devi’ of the Dalits must be shown the door by the Dalits themselves who is better known for unveiling statues of Ambedkar and Kanshiram instead of making toilets for her own community. She is creating and spreading just total nuisance in the name of serving and guarding the Dalits. For the Congress, it is a dying party fighting the UP election under the leadership of an aging matriarch Shiela Dikshit who has barely any connect to the voters and party workers on the ground.

Hence, the BJP can really make the pitch ready for its win. Shah must see to it that issues relating to Dalits and Muslims may cost the party seriously. So time has come for the party to be more cautious in handling the two giants of Indian politics-Caste and Religion. Hope he does.