Farmers Movement Archive

In UP 2022, it’s back to Mandal vs Kamandal

The battle for Uttar Pradesh (UP) has thrown up unforeseen twists and turns. The coalition led by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader, Akhilesh Yadav, has now taken on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) head on, and brings back to mind the old Mandal versus Kamandal battle.Chief minister (CM), Yogi Adityanath, contesting from Gorakhpur, is trying to propagate the message that the saffron party should be given credit for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Earlier, deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya added to the BJP’s religio-political mix by raising the issue of Mathura. Later, the CM joined in asking whether Mathura could be left out if a grand temple could be built in Ayodhya and the Vishwanath corridor in Kashi was opened by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi himself. The message is clear, the BJP is going into the election on a plank largely comprising religion and development.Official figures show that to date 4.3 million poor people have been given houses in UP; 150 million are getting five kg extra foodgrain per unit per month. The BJP has promised 450,000 full-time jobs and 350,000 contractual jobs; 2.5 million people have also been given jobs under the One District One Product scheme. Under the Saubhagya scheme, 14.1 million houses have been given free electricity connections and 16.7 million have got free gas connections. The state government claims that arrears of ₹1.5 lakh crore have been paid to sugarcane farmers so far.But is this enough?The farmers’ movement is a new factor in the political mix. When the PM announced the repeal of the three farm laws, the farmers and the Opposition felt that they could take advantage of related issues like inflation and unemployment. The Opposition has been stressing that the employment figures given by the government are inaccurate. This has led to a new electoral narrative taking shape.BJP dissidents and Opposition leaders have been saying that the government is anti-Brahmin. Yogi Adityanath has personally worked hard to ensure that there are no corruption allegations against him. But this has not addressed all the problems. Swami Prasad Maurya, Dara Singh Chauhan, Dharam Singh Saini and 11 BJP Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) resigned on the grounds that the government was anti-Dalit and anti-backward castes. They have been dismissed as opportunists, but it cannot be denied that five years ago, the same leaders were used by the saffron party to win the state elections. The judicious use of a mix of the “Muzaffarnagar model”, 2013, in western UP and the most backward castes paved the way for the saffron party’s route to success in the 2017 and 2019 elections.The farmers’ movement and now the defection of party leaders have changed the political narrative. Akhilesh Yadav is trying to woo the most backward castes; he already has the support of the Muslims and Yadavs. If the most backward castes weigh in with him, he has a fighting chance now.Akhilesh Yadav has done all this on his own. Earlier, his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and his uncles played a significant role. Now he is the undisputed leader of his party, a status his father once enjoyed. Akhilesh Yadav has deftly joined hands with his uncle Shivpal Yadav, who was his political rival until recently, even when the latter refused to merge his party with the SP. Akhilesh has learnt the art of headline management which explains why the BJP ministers and MLAs were asked to resign one by one, ensuring constant media coverage.But, is this enough for him to win the election?This question cannot be answered right now. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and its leader Mayawati appear unruffled. The party has already distributed more than 70% of its tickets. Its performance will play a major role in the formation of the next government. In the Congress party’s first list, of the 125 people, 50 are women. Among them is the mother of the rape victim of Unnao and an anganwadi worker from Shahjahanpur. This is certainly healthier than the religion and caste equations, but does not seem to be too popular with the rank and file, and four out of seven Congress MLAs have switched sides so far.No one should make the mistake of assuming that the BJP will not be able to form the next government. With the CM’s clean reputation, the backing of the PM, a well-oiled organisational machine and abundant resources, the party is in a fairly advantageous position. But, it has to work to keep its house in order.The renowned poet Jigar Moradabadi once wrote about Ishq (love), Ik aag ka daria hai aur doob ke jana hai (it is a river of fire and you have to drown to find it). Politicians know this only too well come election time.Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan The views expressed are personal

Hindustan Times

16-01-2022

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