Great churning

By Manish Anand

It's a monumental churning in UP that Mayawati swept to power with a full majority. A feat achieved after a span of 14 years by any party and positions her Bahujan Samaj Party firmly in the heart of the Indian politics. This also consigns to oblivion the mathematical politics of the BJP, Samajwadi Party and the Congress.

The churning also puts the wayward mandalised politics on the backfoot with assertive dalits and brahmins combining together. And with few of the Brahmin ministers touching the dalit Mayawati's feet, the social engineering gets altogether interesting. A Brahmin advisor (Satish Chandra Mishra) helped an impulsive and directionless dalit mass leader (Mayawati) to capture the nerve of the UP people so firmly. It has to be read into and analysed further as here lies the future directions of the Indian politics.

Mulayam Singh Yadav with vote-bank of backward castes and Muslims gave UP crime, injustice and backwardness. The BJP with its vote-bank of forward caste and Baniya gave UP confusion on issues hardly affecting the daily lives of the people. It remains blindfolded to the fact that with millions of the poor around you the temple is least needed by the people. It's arrogance of having shroud mavericks in its fold, who dished out CD highly intolerable in a pluralist and secular society and who talked up of alliance with Mulayam Singh to whom it had alleged of having an ISI link, now lie in tatters.

The BJP in UP just proved that it's on the way to become insignificant soon with its superficial politics being paid least attention by the people. The Congress should rather pack up as its kid, another Gandhi avatar, proved that the party is guided by highly insensitive and disconnected people.

A sane voice must advice Rahul Gandhi that it's high time that he comes out of the mama's and papa's achievements and build a niche for himself. This UP election would definitely prove a big education for him.

Mayawati is most likely to reverse the path of UP going the Bihar way with strong hold on bureaucracy and law and order. The collective identity of UP, which was more identified by goons like Raja Bhaiya and Amarmani Tripathi, would hopefully go for an image makeover. She is most likely to make the bureaucracy come out of its British imperialism hangover and become a true servant of the people. This she could do if she is not caught in the web woven by the politicians, bureaucrats and judiciary to keep the status quo going.

And, people in UP could tolerate more statues of Kansi Ram and Dr Ambedkar along with elephants if they come up with law and order, development and social harmony.