UP's giant killer

This profile of UP CM designate Akhilesh Yadav appeared in Financial Chronicle with the following web link http://e.mydigitalfc.com/PUBLICATIONS/DCF/DCF/2012/03/10/INDEX.SHTML

MANISH ANAND

THE ASIAN AGE

A DAY after the humiliating loss of his wife Dimple Yadav at the hands of friend-turned-foe Raj Babbar in the Firozabad Lok Sabha by-elections, Akhilesh Yadav had set out to write the script for 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Egged on by the media whether he was ready for a faceoff with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, the young Yadav, who is nicknamed Tipu, told reporters that he would accept the challenge. Now that the Uttar Pradesh verdict is out, Akhilesh has clearly accounted for the loss of prestige with the defeat of his wife in November 2009.

A day before the fate of his wife's political debut was known, he had said that Babbar had used “extensive money power“ to defeat his party. Akhilesh also never forgot to remind all, that Uttar Pradesh had seen a huge rise in the number of berozgar baap (unemployed fathers).

Tipu included an unemployment allowance of Rs 1,000 per month in the party manifesto. This turned out to be one act of smart thinking of a leader who had his ears to the ground, as hundreds of youths started thronging the state government's employment exchanges in anticipation of getting the benefit.

Son of a wrestler-turned-politician father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh knew the youth, who held the key to success in the elections, wanted development. So, he was also instrumental in giving a modern look to the party, which promised tablets to students after passing the XIIth examination and modern education.

Akhilesh, born on July 1, 1973, was drafted into politics by Mulayam in 2000 when he was fielded to contest the Kannauj Lok Sabha by-election, after his father vacated the constituency.

He still represents the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in parliament.

Before plunging into politics, Akhilesh had completed a master's degree in environmental engineering from Sydney University and had earned a Bachelor's degree in engineering from Sri Jayachamarajendra College in Mysore.

Although fluent in English, Akhilesh is seen answering questions in Hindi mostly, due to his keenness to connect with the youth of his state. After talking to him, one cannot but be impressed with his humility and modesty. This was evident in the course of campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh elections, because he always replied in mild ways to questions on personal attacks by his rivals. The people in the state see in him “one of their own“. The Uttar Pradesh mandate is clear on one thing, that Akhilesh is the youth icon of the state.

Akhilesh is blessed with steely resolve. Knowing that BSP chief Mayawati had ousted his father from the seat of power, Akhilesh cleverly worked to get the party rid of the perception of being one of the goons. Even when a close aide of Mulayam and party's Muslim face Azam Khan wanted to draft “mafia“ don DP Yadav into the party on poll eve, Akhilesh said a clear no. Tipu, with his young team of technocrats and management gurus, gave Mulayam a victory that he had never tasted in his career. Thus, party workers have reasons for rooting for this young Yadav to be the next chief minister of the state.

UP goes Bihar ways

People in Uttar Pradesh never missed a point during the campaign trail, that the state has no leaders like Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. Though lacking in leadership, UP still went on the lines of Bihar, which had trouched caste politics about seven years ago. There is a change in UP now but it will take time to know if the change puts the state on the path of development oriented politics or not.

UP has clearly become a turf of regional parties. This is bad news for national political parties. The state appears on the course to unveil a revolving door politics on the lines of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is in the winter of his health. Therefore, Akhilesh Yadav could become the chief minister at the earliest. In such a scenario, Akhilesh will have an opportunity to do a Nitish in Bihar. Even people in West Bengal rue the fact that though they elected Mamata Banerjee to get rid of the Left rule, they still do not have leadership to take pride in.

The Congress needs to get rid of the coterie of sycophants surrounding party scion Rahul Gandhi if it at all wants redemption at the earliest. Politics has no place for an angry young man. Though this was known to all on the street, the coterie of sycophants kept egging on the Congress scion to indulge in theatrics. The party needs to know sooner than latter that the people are not that fool, that they could be lured by acts of theatrics. 

The BSP chief Mayawati is not wrong in suggesting that the Congress gave the plot to the SP to win the elections by propping up the issue of reservation for Muslims. The issue hogged the limelight throughout the campaigning. However, the SP outsmarted the Congress in appealing to be more sincere to the cause of the Muslims.

Mayawati's image of an arrogant and megalomaniac clearly paved the way for the SP to ride on a massive anti-incumbency wave. The UP mandate is more against Mayawati than for Mulayam. Poeple appear to have no better choice but to vote in the SP into power. However, democracy still has space for leaders like Mayawati, Jayalalitha and Mamata, who centralise power and fuel perception of them being dictatorial. Though people always have the last laugh, they still vote in such leaders and therefore it may not be an end of the road for Mayawati too.

The BJP appears to be a ship adrift in the high sea. A host of top leadership were busy in ensuring that the party candidates were defeated. BJP's chief Nitin Gadkari's gamble of hoisting Uma Bharati upset them, while his ploy to piggyback ride on BSP discards (Babu Singh Kushwaha and Badshah Singh) clearly went against the sentiment of the people in the state.

However, the Congress and BJP have one glimmer of hope, that the Parliamentary and state polls may be delinked. People appear to have voted in the SP, as no other party was seen defeating Mayawati. But people will have to choose in between the Congress and BJP in 2014. Thus, the state of politics in UP is clearly in flux and the national political parties would better be advised to effect course correction to stay relevant in the state which elect 80 Lok Sabha members.