The BSP won Ambedkar Nagar, Amroha, Bijnor, Ghazipur, Ghosi, Jaunpur, Lalganj, Nagina, Saharanpur and Shrawasti. The SP won Azamgarh, Mainpuri, Moradabad, Rampur and Sambhal. While BJP ally Apna Dal picked up Mirzapur and Robertsganj, the rest were all won by the BJP.

Ever since the election results were declared, political pundits, professors and senior journalists have been feverishly trying to explain how the caste quotient worked in UP.

The caste conundrum: What do experts say?
According to Athar Husain, Director, Centre for Objective Research and Development (CORD), “More than 70% Muslims, Jatavs and Yadavs and 35% Jats voted for the Gathbandhan. On the other hand, more than 70% upper castes and non-Yadav OBCs, and around 55% non-Jatav Dalits and 55% Jats backed the BJP.” Explaining the significance of these numbers, he explains, “Muslims, Yadavs and Dalits constitute around 49% in UP. Remove non-Jatav Dalits, which is around 10% of the population, and that reduces the Gathbandhan ‘s core constituency to 39%. This percentage is not spread evenly across the state. The BJP ability to draw non-Jatav Dalits on its side was crucial. So, here I want to emphasise that Gathbandhan was hugely successful in garnering its core vote and reached the figure of 40% which is huge by any count, but overwhelming consolidation of Upper Caste Hindu vote with huge chunk of MBC’s (non-Yadav OBCs) and non Jatav Dalits went to BJP which gave it roughly a lead of 9-10%.”

Which means that the Gathbandhan’s simplistic assumption that, to consolidate their main caste base –and also tactically give representation to those among the Kurmis, Nishadhs and Patels – would work, was simply not enough. That the ‘grand old party’, the Congress chose this particular election ‘to effect a comeback’ in UP and go it alone, also did not help. Our calculations show that in at least 13 seats it was the INC that stole victory from the Gathbandhan. Which assumes then, that even if it had been within the alliance, of the 80 parliamentary seats in UP, only approximately 28 were assured. Simple vote and caste arithmetic appear to have been beaten by the gross use of a money and resource funded publicity campaign and attendant dissemination/organisation.
Meanwhile, Christophe Jaffrelot and Gilles Verniers have made another important observation about upper castes dominating the new Lok Sabha in this piece in the Indian Express. Citing data from the Trivedi Center for Political Data (Ashoka University) and the CERI (Sciences Po), the duo have chosen to focus on the Hindi belt calling it the “crucible of the Mandalisation of Indian politics in the 1990s”.

Jaffrelot is Senior Research Fellow at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, Professor of Indian Politics & Sociology at King’s India Institute, London, and non-resident scholar at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Gilles Verniers is Assistant Professor of political science, and Co-Director, Trivedi Centre for Political Data, Ashoka University.

They go on to write, “This decade saw the percentage of OBC MPs doubling – from 11% to 22% – at the expense of the upper castes, largely because of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, but also because of the nomination of lower caste candidates by the Congress and the BJP, a party that used to be known as a “Banya/Brahmin” party, but which realised in the 1990s that OBCs could not be ignored anymore – as evident from the appointment of Kalyan Singh as Chief Minister in 1991.

“However, the last decade has seen the return of the savarn (upper caste) – and the erosion of OBC representation – along with the rise of the BJP. This trend started in 2009, but the Modi wave of 2014 has confirmed it and the last elections have resulted in a certain consolidation of this come back to the pre-Mandal scenario.

Data from SPINPER project – The Social Profile of the Indian National and Provincial Elected Representatives. 
 
Highlighting BJP’s return to its savarna heavy cadre, they say, “BJP has nominated 88 upper caste candidates out of 147 non-reserved seats in the Hindi belt and 80 of them have been elected.”
Jaffrelot and Gilles also highlight how the BJP has chosen to stick with Brahmins and Rajputs. They write, “… out of 199 BJP candidates in the Hindi belt, 37 were Brahmins and 30 were Rajputs – 33 and 27 have been respectively elected.”

It appears that the BJP has also tried to counter the Yadav votes (that typically go to the SP) by pitching eight Kurmi candidates (7 got elected) and many others from smaller OBC ‘jaatis’. Similarly, to counter the Jatav votes (that typically go to the BSP) the BJP fielded candidates from non-Jatav communities. The BSP has increasingly been come to be known as solelyu representative of the Jatav section among Dalits. The BJP also fielded 14 Jat candidates.

This chart shows the caste distribution of BJP and INC candidates.

Data from SPINPER project. 

What do the subalterns want?
Both these analyses are on point when it comes to statistics, but understanding the motivations and sentiments requires a more complex and layered approach. Are the needs of the Yadavs different from those of the non-Yadavs? Has the SP by being seen as solely a “Yadav” party self-limited itself ? Have the Jatavs and non-Jatavs Dalits experienced different forms of oppression and exclusion? Or is it that by being exclusive of other Dalit sections the BSP has itself not followed the ‘Bahujan’ concept as politically conceptualised by Kanshiram? How homogenous are these caste identities? Is there scope for heterogeneity even within the same caste? Do they all vote alike? What do they want from their elected representatives?

Is it still just an existential struggle about roti-kapda-makaan and bijli-paani-sadak? The BJP famously drove home the ‘success’ of their many populist schemes including Ujjwala Gas, Swachha Bharat and PM Awas Yojana through an ingenuous misuse of advertisement and marketing resources.  In this piece in Firstpost Parth MN shows how the BJP showed it all as work in progress and used that to encourage people to vote them back into power.

He writes, “I travelled through the Hindi heartland for three months ahead of the results on 23 May. It was impossible to not hear the paeans of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, especially in rural areas, where the Opposition expected to make inroads using agrarian crisis and unemployment.”

He goes on to say, “I met families who benefited from these schemes. I met people who are waiting for the schemes to reach them. More importantly, those who have not yet availed of the schemes know it has reached their neighbourhoods.” Comparing the BJP’s strategy to Hirschman’s Tunnel Effect, he says, “… if people belonging to your class, caste or religion are seen to be part of a sort of a transformation, you tend to be more patient towards the process. Hirschman’s Tunnel Effect has played a significant role in Narendra Modi’s success during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.”

Parth MN also echoes the longstanding belief that the BJP targets specific castes. He writes, “The politics of welfare has also helped Modi consolidate his caste arithmetic. In Uttar Pradesh, for example, the BJP’s focus has been on the non-Yadav OBCs, and non-Jatav Dalits. They are the ones largely considered to be the swing factor, with Yadavs and Jatavs firmly behind the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party respectively.”

Also one cannot ignore the aspirations of young Dalits, Adivasis and Bahujans, and their idea of India. Did the feverishly jingoistic pitch of the BJP’s post-Pulwama ‘nationalist’ campaign capture the imagination of the savarna and subaltern voter alike?

Let us also not forget this piece in The Caravan that highlights the caste of Pulwama martyrs saying, “…the Hindutva nationalism of the urban middle-class, largely spearheaded by right-wing groups, conveniently exploits the sacrifices of the downtrodden.” Given how many men from socio-economically deprived backgrounds, including several from historically oppressed castes end up enrolling in various defence and para-military forces, the ‘nationalist’ sentiment among the youth in these communities cannot be ignored.

What women want?
Add to this the calibrated approach of the women’s wing of the RSS in reaching out to women voters in UP, recognising their need to be recognised as a part of the political process. The communication was customised to appeal to urban women, rural women and even Muslim women. Speaking to us exclusively on the condition of anonymity, a woman who is a part of the Rashtriya Sevika Samiti and went door to door speaking to women voters, told us, “Before the campaigns, the members of the women’s wing were given some tips on talking to the women voters. We were even provided with specialised and specific data that cannot be collected by the common man.” Although the women’s wing didn’t explicitly request the women voters to vote for BJP, their meetings were designed  to hint towards the Modi government and its policies. They discussed the various schemes launched during Modi’s regime such as ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’, ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’, ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ among others. Read our exclusive story here. 

Women, especially those from historically oppressed castes and socio-economically backward communities, face multiple layers of oppression on account of their gender, caste and economic background. With a gradual but steady increase in awareness and education, and also after surviving domestic violence and sexual harassment for generations, it is ludicrous to presume that these women will vote only as directed by the men in their families and communities.

Remember how the women’s vote had swung the election in favour of Nitish Kumar who promised prohibition if he came to power during the Bihar assembly elections in 2015. It remains to be seen how the Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi woman voted.

The post What upset the Gathbandhan’s applecart in UP: Caste quotient or something else? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The if only’s make for tired reading in politics. But in an India, groaning under the double-edged sword of a supremacist RSS-BJP government –brute majoritarianism and utter non-performance socio-economically–it may be wise, now, to plod this much beaten path. And count the figures, add up the differences so as to learn lessons for 2019.

In a nail biting finish that went on past midnight on counting day, it appeared more than certain that the Indian National Congress would form the government in this politically critical Hindi heartland state. But what if the Congress had swept back, adding say about 25-28 more to its already winning tally of 114 and clocking up more seats making this a whopping, or at least clearer, 139 plus seat win? What if BSP had then won three more and the Samajwadi Party (SP) two more taking the tally to 149? This would have been possible, the figures show, if there had been a sensible seat sharing arrangement (alliance) of the three. Without this, the tension mounted and the grand old party was not sure until the very end whether it would make a comeback in Bhopal.

Election Commission of India (ECI) figures show that while NOTA accounted for a not insignificant 1.4 % of the votes polled in MP, BSP returned an impressive 5.8% of the vote share. The SP has today, 1.3% of the votes and the AAP 0.7% (the total vote share of these three formations is around 8 %). Clearly an alliance would have helped all around. There are some seats however where it is a Brahmin or Thakur candidate (of both dominant parties) in first two positions; here the BSP and SP may have had to transfer votes to who they see as politically hostile castes.

Let’s start with Agar, the administrative head quarters for the Agar Malwa district. Situated on the Indore Kota highway and known since Mughal times for the historically rich town of Mandu, a much visited tourist spot, Vipin Wankhede of the INC could have won if such an alliance was in place. He polled 79,656 votes as opposed to the winner from the BJP, Manohar Untwal who won 82,146 votes.

Why? The fact that two spoilers, Govind Suryavanshi (BSP) and Babulal Malviya (AAP) won 1978 and 2039 votes respectively. The difference between the first two candidates is just 2,490 votes.
Amarpatnam in Satna district tells a similar story. An old Garhi town with the Jagannath Swami temple, it connects Rewa to Maihar. Check out the final figures there. The winner from the BJP, Ramkhelawan Patel won 59,836 votes and the runner up from the INC, Dr Rajendra Kumar Singh (Dada Bhai) 56,089. The third place is held by Chhangelal Kol who polled an impressive 37,918 votes. Imagine if number two and three had fought together ? There is more. The CPI candidate,  Comrade Rajdhani Singh won 1427 votes and the Samajwadi party’s Amit Kumar Tiwari won 1495 votes.

Then let’s move to Ashta in Sehore district ruled by Mirza Alam Baig in Britsh times and the story is similar. Gopal Singh Engineer of the INC clocked an impressive 86,248 votes at number 2 while the number three was Kamal Singh Chauhan of the Prajatantrik Samadhan party with 17,577 votes and Shailesh Vaidya of the BSP got 4487 votes. The winner Raghunath Singh Malviya of the BJP got 92,292 votes.

Turn to Ater, where the winner Arvind Singh Bhadoria from the BJP has got 58928 votes and Hemant Satyadev Katare from the INC 53950 votes. If the votes of Sanjeev Baghel from the BSP could have been counted in alliance (he got 16585 votes) the victory would have been theirs.

Voting figures from Balaghat tell a similar story. The INC candidate, Vishveshwar Bhagat at number three got 28,701 votes and the Samajwadi Party’s  runner up, Anubha Munjare got 45822 numbers that put together cold have defeated the BJP whose candidate, Gaurishanker Chaturbhuj Bisen got 73,476 votes if in the alliance SP could have been given the ticket.

Bandhavgarh tells a similar decisive story with three players, the Indian National Congress (Dhyan Singh got 55255 votes), the Gondwana Gantantra Party’s Ram Milan Baiga (9854 votes) and the BSP’s Shivprasad Kol 6936 votes totalling more than the BJP’s Shivnarayan Singh’s 59,158 votes.

In Bina, the difference between number one and two is as low as 632 votes. Imagine an alliance where the INC’s Shahshi Kathoria (57196 votes) and BSP’s Ahirwar Surendra Kumar (6889 votes) could be totalled: Mahesh Rai of BJP who won just 57828 votes would surely have lost.

 Chandla in MP is one more such constituency: Rajesh Kumar Prajapati of the BJP who squeaked through with 41227 votes would have had to sit in the opposition benches if the INC and BSP had fought together. The INC’s runner up, Anuragi Hariprasad (Gopi Master) got 40050 votes and the BSP’s Ahirwar Pushpendra Kumar got an impressive 25739 votes.

Then again Churhat where the BJP’s Sharadendu Tiwari won with 71909 votes and Ajay Arjun Singh got 65507 votes, Vivek Kol of the BSP got 2997 votes and Anand Pandey of the CPI who got 1961 votes where the fight was really close.

In Deotalab, an alliance where the BSP’s seat share is more would have seen it getting one more seat if number three, INC who’s candidate, Adv Vidya Wati Patel’s score of 30,383 could have added to the score card. The BSP’s Seema Jaiveer Singh Sengar is the runner up with 43963 seats and Girish Gautam of the BJP the winner with 45043 votes.

Come to Devsar where again the BSP at number four polled 14464 votes (Shiv Shankar Prasad with 14464 votes), Gondvana Gantantra Party at number three (Surendra Prajapati with 18320 votes). If this tally could have been added to the runner up from the INC, Baanshmani Prasad Verma who got 52617 votes, BJP’s Subhash Ram Cahiritra who got 63295 votes would have been defeated.

Dhouhani tells a similar story with the GGP coming third with a significant 19457 (Rupnarayan Singh Poya) votes and BSP (Awadh Pratap Singh) at number four with 9062 votes ate into the opposition kitty: INC’s Kamlesh Singh got 54202 and the winner, Kunwar Singh Tekam of the BJP got 57995.

Garoth is another seat where there is a narrow margin of victory, INC’s Subhash Kumar Sojatia clocked up 73838 votes, the BSP’s Jagdish Rangothia 1696 votes when the winner from the BJP, Devilal Dhakad got 75946 votes. Come to Gwalio Rural with its own stunning tale. It is BSP’s Sahab Singh Gurjar who is less than two thousand votes behind the BJP’s winning candidate, Bharat Singh Khushwaha who got 51033 votes and INC’s Madanlal Kushwah at number three also pulls a not insignificant 38199 votes.

Indore-5 where the BJP’s Mahendra Hardia narrowly won with 1,17,836 votes saw a tough fight put up by INC’s Satyanarayan Patel who got 1,16,703. BSP’s Dongar Singh Goyal got 1422 votes and AAP’s Shailendra Kumari Ranawat got 878. Not a clear-cut win but close.

Jabera leaves no such doubts. The winner who is BJP’s Dharmendra Bhav Singh Lodhi could notch up 48,901 votes and the UNC’s Pratap Singh 45,416 votes. But look at what both the GGP and BSP pulled in here: Arvind Pratap Singh Judev of the GGP got 10,490 votes and Delan Singh Dhurve of the BSP got 10,355 votes.

 Jaitpur tells a similarly decisive tale. BSP’s candidate is at number four, Mohadal Singh Pav who got 6,141 votes and GGP’s Bharat Singh Oladi at number three with 11,498 votes. The difference between the winner, Manisha Singh (BJP) votes at 74,279 and the INC’s Uma Dhurvey (70,063)–both women — is far far less than of the post poll allies had fought the elections together.

Jaora again saw BJP’s Rajendra Pandey (64,503) beating KK Singh Kalukheda(63,992) of the INC by just 511 votes. Add AAP’s 1241 votes to the tally (Jakir Hussein) and BSP’s (Bhanwar Singh Jhala) 880 votes and there would be another story.

Let’s go to Khargapur where Rahul Singh Lodhi of the BJP won with 63,066 votes and the runner up from the INC, Chanda Surendra Singh Gour got 51,401 votes. The BSP’s Ajay Yadav, got 15,366 vote at number three.  Similarly, Birendra Raghuvanshi of the BJP had a narrow win with 72,450 votes when the INC’s Mahendra Ramsingh Yadav got 71,730 votes and the BSP’s Ashok Sharma got 16,483 votes–a scenario which would have Congress another seat if the pre poll alliance had been in place.

GGP’s Manish Patel is number three in Maihar assembly seat with an impressive 33,397 votes and BSP’s Nagendra Singh got 18418 votes neither an insignificant tally. Now look at the INC, runner up at number two with Shrikant Chaturvedi getting 51,893 vots and the winner Narayan Tripathi of the BJP getting 54887 votes. The story is clear.

Nagod tells a similar tale: BSP’s Advocate Rambhihari has won 22,428 votes and GGP’s Ramsajeevan Kol 1,934 votes (third and fourth place). BJP has won with its candidate, Nagendra Singh getting 54,647 votes, about twelve hundred more than the INC’s Yadvendra Singh who got 53,403 votes.

It s the Samajwadi Party (SP) that would have benefitted from a collective battle in Niwari: Meera Deepak Yadav at number two got 40,901 votes, BSP’s Ganesh Prasad Kushwaha 21,444 votes and the INC’s Ahir Captain Surendra Singh 12,221 votes. The winner, BJP’s Anil Jain got 49,738 votes.

In Panna, the SP is at number 5 with its candidate a small spoiler grabbing 3,291 votes and the BSP the bigger one with Anupama Charam Singh Yadav getting 22,818 votes. The INC lost here with Shivjeet Singh getting 47,651 votes and the winner Brihendra Pratap Singh getting 68,359 votes.

The figures of Paraswada are similarly telling and impressive for the opposition candidates. Both INC at number three with its Madhu Bhagat getting 47,476 votes and the SP at number two (Kankar Munjare getting 47,787 votes) have done well. BJP’s winning candidate, Ram Kishore got 57,395 votes and the BSP was at number four with its candidate, Mukesh Bouddh getting 3886 votes.
In Pawai too its these four players who got the highest four votes: BJP;s Prahlad Lodhi (79,647 votes),  INC’s Pandit Mukesh Nayak (55,967 votes), SP;s Bhuwan Vikram Singh (22,384 votes) and BSP’s Sita Ram Patel Advocate (14,381 votes). At number five is the GGP’s Mahipal Singh with 9913 votes.

Jugul Kishore Bagri of the BJP from Raigaon won with a decisive 65,910 votes but the INC’s Kalpana Verma with 48,489 votes and BSP’s Usha Chaudhary with 16,677 votes and AAP with 1578 votes could have put up a significant fight. The CPI-M’s KK Shukla polled a poor 1,948 votes at number four in Rampur Baghelan while the INC’s Ramshankar Payasi at number three ( 42,501 votes) and Ramlakhan Singh Patel of the BSP (53,129 votes) were decisive. Vikram Singh of the BJP got a mere 68,816 votes. The BSP could have got this seat with INC’s help.

Semariya in MP, similarly sees the BSP’s Pankaj Singh clock a strong 38,477 at number three. The INC with Triyugi Narayan Shukla gets 40,113 votes while the winner, BJP’s KP Tripathi gets 47,889 votes. Sihoria again has INC at number two with Khiladi Singh  wining 66,489 votes. However add to this the BSP’s 6,028 votes (Smt Babita Gautiya) and GGP’s Maahu Singh Paraste (5937 votes) and the picture changes, again.

If there is one sear where the AAP can be proud it is in Singarouli where at number three it gets as many as 32,167 votes. Again however INC is number two with Renu Shah getting 32,980 votes but the real story us when you add the BSP’s to the tally (Suresh Shahwal getting 15,044 votes) and the SP (Shikha Singh) getting 4680 votes and the CPI’s Ashok Kumar Dubey getting 1892 votes.

It is the SP’s Pradeep Singh Patna who is at number four in Sirmour with 11,144 votes and BSP’s Ramgarib Banwasi at number three with 18,466 votes. Dr Aruna Vivek Twari of the INC got 36,042 votes while the BJP’s Divyaraj Singh won with 49,443 votes.

In Teonthar assembly constituency again the BSP gets an impressive 17,396 votes with its candidate, Geeta Rajmani Majhi and the INC’s Ramashankar Singh getting 47,386 votes. The BJP’s Shyam Lal Dwivedi won with 52,729 votes.

Again in Tikamgarh, it is BSP and SP who are at number three and four winning 9,793 (Dr Vinod Kumar Rai) and 2,046 votes (Kushwaha Chhakkey Lal) while Yogendra Singh of the INC at number two got 62,783 votes; the winner Rakesh Giri got 66,958 votes.

In Vijaypur it is Seetaram of the BJP who makes the tally with 63,331 votes while the INC’s Ramniwas Rawat with 60,491 votes and BSP’s Babulal Mebra with 35,628 votes is at number three.

Lessons to be learned when the Opposition returns to the drawing board to set in a strategy for the 2019 Lok sabha election.
 
 

The post If Only the BSP, SP & Congress had a Seat Share, MP would have seen a Clean-er Sweep appeared first on SabrangIndia.

By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net

Akhilesh Yadav sat on the stage with senior leaders of various small political outfits of the state, strengthening the argument that he has succeeded in forging a sort of “grand alliance” in Uttar Pradesh as well.
 
Along with him, Rajendra Chaudhary from SP, Dr Ayyub from Peace Party, Sanjay Kumar Nishad from NISHAD party, and RK Chaudhary from Rashtriya Swabhiman Party also shared the stage, with their joint candidate Praveen Kumar Nishad standing on the left side of the stage.

 
Apart from the above-mentioned political parties, several Communist parties, Rashtriya Lok Dal, and Rashtriya Vikas Party have also joined this alliance in Uttar Pradesh before the by-election in Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency to be held on March 11.

Dr. Ayyub, the founder-president of Peace Party made the aims of the alliance clear while speaking on stage. “A secular alliance comprising every group of the society needed in the state. This alliance is a first major step towards that.

“We will bring justice to Dalits, OBCs, Muslims and poor people in the polling on March 11,” he said. Even though the Peace Party does not have much of a base in Gorakhpur, it has a long association with NISHAD party. Even in Muslim-dominated localities of Gorakhpur, people have only heard of Peace Party. Rashid Qureshi, a 43-year-old meat seller in Urdu Bazaar of Gorakhpur, said, “We know about Ayyub, his son, and their party. But I must add here that we have not seen them ever among us.”

Muslims in Gorakhpur are likely to vote in the majority for the newly-forged alliance but the only reason behind this is the name of Samajwadi Party, which is an old favourite of Muslims of the state. “Samajwadi Party is only alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party, and that has nothing to do with Peace Party or its campaign,” added Qureshi.

However, one of the biggest game changer in the by-election equation is the NISHAD Party. The ‘Nirbal Indian Soshit Humara Aam Dal’ better known as NISHAD party was founded by Sanjay Kumar Nishad, who has also been a member of The All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF). Experts in Gorakhpur believe that in the last few years, BAMCEF-trained Sanjay Kumar Nishad has managed to create a large base in the rural areas of the district.

 
Maybe this explains the reason behind the huge turnout in March 7 rally of Akhilesh Yadav in Gorakhpur. “We did not have to do much to gather people here. Workers and supporters of NISHAD party did most of the work to gather people here,” confessed one of the workers of Samajwadi Party on the condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, March 6, hundreds of Nishad party members along with Sanjay Kumar Nishad entered Gorakhnath Temple and prayed for their win in the election. Sanjay Nishad conducted a press briefing outside the temple and made the same old, but well-known claim that the Gorakhnath Temple belonged to the Nishad community and lashed out at Yogi Government. This issue has often been brought up by the Nishad community especially in the context of the current politics of Gorakhpur, but very few media outlets carried the news next day.

According to journalists and the spectators, the rally on Wednesday was one of the biggest political rally someone held for the upcoming elections. Women, children, and senior citizens were fairly visible in the crowd. Sunita Devi, a 36-year-old housewife who held the flag of NISHAD party high, told TwoCircles.net, “It is an added attraction for us to see Dr Sahab (a famous nickname for Sanjay Kumar Nishad) with Akhilesh Ji. Yogi Ji is the leader of the temple and the people around it, but this alliance will take care of all.”

In his address, Sanjay Nishad called the ‘BJP’ the “Bharat Jalao Party” and said, “This (the alliance) is an attempt to consolidate the 70 percent votes which were cast against BJP in last general elections, and we will succeed in doing that.”

He further said, “I have committed my son — Gorakhpur candidate Praveen Kumar Nishad — to the principles of Samajwadi Party,” a statement which Akhilesh Yadav endorsed later by saying that “Praveen is the son of NISHAD party, but he is also the younger brother of the Samajwadi party.”
 
Sanjay Kumar Nishad also attacked Yogi Government, holding them responsible for infant and child deaths in Baba Raghavdas Medical College, Gorakhpur last year. “Yogi should have been resigned from the post taking moral responsibility of the same, but he did not,” Nishad said.

It is important to note that the Samajwadi Party started losing ground support in Gorakhpur since Yogi Adityanath aka Ajay Singh Bisht became the MP of Gorakhpur. It was always the division of votes of Nishad, Muslim and other backward communities between several parties which used to give a huge winning margin to Gorakhnath Temple. But the current by-election has put SP back in the fight. Ravi Kumar Gaud, 32-year-old rickshaw puller said, “I used to give my vote to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) or NISHAD Party, but this time I hope my vote to SP will not go for a loss.”

As the BSP has extended support to SPs alliance for the by-election — even though none of the leaders from BSP was present on Wednesday rally — a major chunk of votes are likely to shift towards SP alliance. Raju Kumar, a 29-year-old jobless voter shares, “We have the conviction to vote for BSP since long. But in this election, Mayawati has told us to go with SP. Hope that will change something.”

The mysterious Tiwari Hata, which is ‘silent’ this time
The rift between Brahmins and Thakurs in Gorakhpur is not new, but it came out in the open after a raid that was conducted on ‘Tiwari Ahata’ or more popularly known as ‘Hata’ — the house of Harishankar Tiwari, Yogi’s rival in Gorakhpur situated in the middle of the Gorakhpur — soon after Yogi sworn in as a Chief minister last year.

Tiwari Hata of Gorakhpur (Image: Siddhant Mohan/ TwoCircles.net)

Ex-cabinet minister and BSP leader Hari Shankar Tiwari has been a source of Brahmin pride in Gorakhpur and nearby areas. Considered a Bahubali, Tiwari has succeeded in creating a centre of Brahmin consolidation in Gorakhpur, a city which has a large chunk of Thakur voters. Yogi Adityanath, who comes from a Thakur background, has been a rivalry of Harishankar since he bagged the Loksabha seat of Gorakhpur 20 years ago.

Tiwari, who has been one of the favourites of BSP leader Mayawati, faced humiliation after UP Police conducted a raid on his residence on April 22 last year, and apprehended six people. Irrespective of the administrative explanation, people in the Gorakhpur knew that the raid was conducted on the direct orders of Yogi Adityanath, who wanted to humiliate Tiwari. Otherwise, there was no specific reason which caused the police to dare to enter the premises of Harishankar Tiwari’s house after almost three decades.

But even after such episodes, Hata does not speak. None of the members of the family of Harishankar Tiwari or any of the men living in the Hata want to speak to the media over election strategies. We entered a ‘Hata’ early evening and met Bahubali Mishra, one of the several managers in Hata in his early 30s. After many attempts, Mishra spoke freely, “Everyone knows here that BSP has supported Nishad candidate of SP. But we see no activity in Hata about that.”

It certainly feels strange that owing to BSP for a powerful politics, Hata seems silent when it actually has the chance to defeat Yogi Adityanath or BJP or the power centre of Gorakhnath Temple. The compound is filled with four-wheelers, but they rarely leave for campaigning. None of the vehicles or establishments has the flag of Praveen Kumar Nishad or Samajwadi Party or even the BSP. Mishra concludes by whispering, “This is not an election day in Hata. We are doing almost nothing besides our daily managing activities.”

Vinay Shankar Tiwari, Member of Legislative Assembly from BSP and son of Harishankar Tiwari, is in Lucknow for assembly session. Another worker tells us, “MLA Ji is in Lucknow. If he would have given us responsibility, people would have been roaming around campaigning.”

The idleness implies that the Hata does not want to oppose the BJP this time, which has fielded Upendra Dutt Shukla, a Brahmin. Rather, the Hata seems unaffected with the politics going on both sides. Senior journalist Manoj Kumar Singh tells, “Hata has always been following a closed-door politics leaving everyone in dark. But this time they are not even trying to consolidate Brahmin votes against BJP. It seems that they are trying to keep themselves out of the equation.”

But where will the Brahmin votes go in the absence of Hata’s voice? Akhilesh Kumar Pandey, a 39-year-old social activist, says, “Brahmins, especially the ones who are not part of the set up of Gorakhnath Temple, have a long history of opposing it. But when it comes to lining up with Nishad or Muslims, we refrain. So obvious choice would be going with BJP.”

Usually, Brahmins tend to go against Yogi Adityanath, but seeing his diminishing power in the larger politics, the Brahmins may support BJP’s Shukla. “In absence of a voice from Hata, people have no one to influence their insight. So they may go for BJP this time,” added Pandey.

Hindu Yuva Vahini: A missing ‘talk of the town’
“When I hear the word Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), two things come to my mind: Yogi Adityanath and Gorakhpur,” says Pankaj Jaiswal, a fellow traveller with us to Gorakhpur. But keeping the HYV in focus, no one in Gorakhpur talks about Yogi anymore. Keshav Kumar Singh, 32, a member of HYV, meets us in Gorakhnath Temple. Keshav says, “Soon after Yogi Ji won the election, we were almost stopped assigning tasks. Soon, upar ke log cleared to us that we have to look at the organization’s function and agenda unlike what we were doing earlier.”

Singh clarifies. “Earlier, we had to create a momentum in the society about Hindu pride and the young generation’s association. But we all are now a part of a larger politics which is controlled by Bharatiya Janata Party, so we exercise other sorts of tasks.”

A BJP supporter at Gorakhnath Temple (Image: Siddhant Mohan/ TwoCircles.net)

Most of the members of Hindu Yuva Vahini have either left or joined other organisations. Many work with the BJP, many shifted to some other party, few have left the path of radical politics and are now involved in a business. However, there remains a small section of people who are willing to revive the Vahini even after Yogi’s denial. One of such member talked with TwoCircles.net on the condition of anonymity. He said, “Yogi Ji does not need the organisation which actually built his stature as ‘Hindu Hriday Samrat’ (the king of Hindu hearts). He has a larger base of workers from BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh which is spread in more diverse areas, and they are doing enough to keep him in the sky.”

“Now many of the members of HYV take orders from BJP’s small-scale leaders, which is somehow not understandable because it was Yogi earlier who used to be our boss. But we know that if we want to be involved, we have to accommodate with the new development,” added the member who admitted that he has been trying to get a ticket for next village-level elections.

Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur (Image: Siddhant Mohan/ TwoCircles.net)

With the candidature of Upendra Shukla, the claim to govern Gorakhpur has slid from the hands of Gorakhnath Temple to the BJP. With this, one of the last local reasons to keep Hindu Yuva Vahini alive has also come to an end. Many in Gorakhpur were influenced by HYV groundwork, but now at least among the lower castes and Muslims, the BJP does not have a good image.

Even Yogi Adityanath did not want to have Shukla as a candidate because the latter never had good relations with Yogi or his camp. Maybe this is the reason that workers close to Yogi Adityanath are half-heartedly involved in the campaign. But Yogi has sorted his ties with Shukla, which explains why just a week back, Yogi arranged the quick and efficient treatment of Updendra Shukla when he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his brain.

BJP might be covering the story of Shukla’s illness and his comeback in just five days of time after operation, but Shukla is not clever enough to do that as he announces from the stages now, “Yogi Ji has saved my life.”

Muslim factor supports the new equation
Maybe it is the new social engineering of Samajwadi Party, or the recent anti-Madrasa or anti-Muslim announcements or decisions by the Yogi government, or even the recent interference with the personal laws, but Muslims are clearly alienated from the Yogi camp this time. This also applies to Rasoolpur, a Muslim-majority locality surrounding Gorakhnath Temple, where a fair amount of Muslims used to vote for Yogi Adityanath as his camp inside the temple still deals with the everyday problems of Muslims.

Mohammad Shamim Ansari runs a cloth shop in Rasoolpur. He said, “This time, we are keeping our political and social equations far apart from each other because socially, the Temple helps us in the everyday matter, no doubt. But when it comes to politics, there is BJP which is strictly against Muslims. Many of our brothers are not voting for BJP this time.”

Rasoolpur locality of Gorakhpur (Image: Siddhant Mohan/ TwoCircles.net)

“Many of us are of the opinion that we will collectively go for Samajwadi Party, as many of us had already been doing that, which will make our survival easier, at least in Gorakhpur,” adds Ansari. If claims made by Ansari stands correct, then BJP might lose few more votes of Muslims, apart from those of Nishads, Jatavs, a few Brahmins and other backward castes.

But will these changes in social equations affect Yogi’s kingdom for the two decades? Let’s look at the numbers. In the general elections of 2014, Yogi bagged 51.8% votes and ended up winning the election with the margin of 3.12 lakh, a number which was not touched by SP, BSP, and Congress collectively in the same year.

SP and BSP, have both been picking Nishad and Brahmin candidates alternatively for the past many Lok Sabha elections thereby cutting the votes of each other thus handing over the seat to BJP almost as a gift. So the past numbers indicate that indeed BJP is on the victory side, but the newly-forged alliance between SP and BSP by including NISHAD party in between is sparking a debate that first time in three decades, Gorakhpur is going to witness a real political fight.

If 3.5 lakh Nishad voters, 2 lakh Dalit voters and about 2 lakh OBCs in Gorakhpur consolidate without much difference, it may give rise to a new political episode in the district.

No game for Congress, yet again
In Gorakhpur, there is either Yogi Adityanath or Samajwadi Party. Almost no voter in Gorakhpur talks about Surahita Karim Chatterjee, the Congress candidate for upcoming by-polls. Karim is a well-known name in Gorakhpur and tries to win the election, but even many of the state and national level leaders and planners of Congress party do not have high hopes for her.

A senior state-level party worker told TwoCircles.net, “Surahita indeed is going to lose her deposit this time. It was never a fight for us, even though she performed well in 2012 Mayoral elections.”

For the past many years, Congress’ vote percentage has remained between 2.6% and 4.9% and almost every time, it has lost its deposit. And this time too, all thanks to the polarisation of votes between SP and BJP, Congress may face the same fate again.

The social engineering adapted by Samajwadi Party, and formulated by NISHAD party, has made the by-election extremely interesting in Gorakhpur. If this alliance performs well on March 11, the alliance may continue for 2019 general elections also, but it is indeed sure that if BJP witnesses a tough win or even a loss, Yogi will sure try to take back the charge.

Courtesy: Two Circles
 

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बीजेपी ने यह विज्ञापन एसोसिएशन फॉर डेमोक्रेटिक राइट्स(ADR) की जिस रिपोर्ट के आधार पर तैयार किया है,उसमें बीजेपी से लेकर कांग्रेस,शिरोमणी अकाली दल और आम आमदी पार्टी सहित 48 दलों के खातों का हिसाब है। रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि अज्ञात सोर्स से होने वाली आमदनी लगातार बढ़ रही है। पिछले दस सालों में 313 प्रतिशत का इजाफा हुआ है। क्षेत्रिय दलों में अज्ञात सोर्स से आमदनी में 600 प्रतिशत से अधिक का इजाफा हुआ है। राष्ट्रीय दल की आमदनी का 70 फीसदी हिस्सा अज्ञात सोर्स से आता है।

बीजेपी के इस विज्ञापन के हिसाब से बसपा अपने दानकर्ताओं के बारे में नहीं बताती है। चंदे में मिलने वाली सारी रकम 20,000 रुपये से कम की होती है जिससे वह दानकर्ता के नाम बताने के कानूनी दायित्व से मुक्त हो जाती है। आयकर कानून में ही यह प्रावधान है कि 20,000 रुपये से कम की राशि होगी तो आय का ज़रिया बताने की ज़रूरत नहीं है। इस हिसाब से राजनीतिक दल कोई कानून नहीं तोड़ते बल्कि इस कानून का लाभ उठाकर दानकर्तांओं या आमदनी का ज़रिया बताने से बच जाते हैं। यह काम सिर्फ बसपा ही नहीं करती बल्कि हाल फिलहाल वजूद में आई आम आदमी पार्टी भी करती है। कांग्रेस और बीजेपी तो इस खेल के कप्तान हैं।

हमने एडीआर की रिपोर्ट पर मीडिया रिपोर्टिंग देखी। ज़्यादतर रिपोर्ट में बसपा के इस 100 फीसदी को बड़ा करके छापा गया है। एक या दो अख़बार में ही इस बात का ज़िक्र मिला कि 100 फीसदी अज्ञात सोर्स से आमदनी करने वाली बसपा की कुल आमदनी कितनी है। बीजेपी के इस भ्रामक विज्ञापन की असलीयत समझने के लिए यह जानना ज़रूरी है कि अगर बसपा को अज्ञात सोर्स से सौ करोड़ मिले हैं तो बाकी दलों को क्या बिलकुल नहीं मिले हैं?

एडीआर के अनुसार 2004-05 से 2014-15 के बीच बसपा की ज्ञात सोर्स से आमदनी 5.19 करोड़ से बढ़कर 111.96 करोड़ हो जाती है। बसपा ने एक रुपये की राशि का हिसाब ज्ञात सोर्स से नहीं दिया है। यानी उसकी सौ फीसदी आमदनी अज्ञात सोर्स से होती है। क्या आप जानते हैं या बीजेपी ने इस विज्ञापन से बताया है कि अज्ञात सोर्स से सबसे अधिक कमाई किसकी होती है? जिस एडीआर की रिपोर्ट के सहारे बीजेपी ने सपा-बसपा को भ्रष्ट कहा है, उसमें दूसरे नंबर पर भाजपा है और पहले नंबर पर कांग्रेस है।कांग्रेस की आमदनी का 83 फीसदी हिस्सा अज्ञात सोर्स से आता है यानी 3,329 करोड़ रुपये। बीजेपी की आमदनी का 65 फीसदी हिस्सा अज्ञात सोर्स से आता है यानी 2,126 करोड़ रुपया। समाजवादी पार्टी की 94 फीसदी आमदनी अज्ञात सोर्स से होती है यानी 766 करोड़।

बीजेपी के अनुसार अगर अज्ञात सोर्स से 112 करोड़ कमाने वाली बसपा भ्रष्ट है तो अज्ञात सोर्स से 2126 करोड़ कमाने वाली बीजेपी क्या है। 100 करोड़ और 2000 करोड़ में फर्क होता है या नहीं होता है। क्या अज्ञात सोर्स से 2126 करोड़ की आमदनी करने वाली बीजेपी ईमानदार कही जाएगी? क्या बीजेपी अज्ञात सोर्स से 3,329 करोड़ की आमदनी करने वाली कांग्रेस को महाईमानदार मानती है? बीजेपी ने ही एडीआर की रिपोर्ट के आधार पर पैमाना बनाया है इसलिए जवाब भी उसी को देना चाहिए। बीजेपी ने किस हिसाब से ख़ुद को और कांग्रेस को इस पोस्टर से ग़ायब कर दिया है और बसपा-सपा को भ्रष्ट घोषित कर दिया है।

इस भ्रामक विज्ञापन के पीछे क्या यह मंशा रही होगी कि बसपा के न तो प्रवक्ता हैं न उनका कोई मीडिया सेल है इसलिए वो तो जवाब नहीं दे पायेंगे। कांग्रेस का नाम लेंगे तो प्रेस कांफ्रेंस भी हो जाएगा और वह छपेगा भी। इसके अलावा तो कोई कारण समझ नहीं आता है। यूपी बीजेपी का यह राजनीतिक विज्ञापन नोटबंदी के दौरान प्रधानमंत्री के उन आश्वासनों का भी अनादर करता है जब उन्होंने कहा था कि वे राजनीतिक दलों की फंडिंग पर खुली चर्चा चाहते हैं। हालांकि राजनीतिक दलों की फंडिंग पर कई साल से खुली चर्चा हो रही है, तमाम तरह की रिपोर्ट है फिर भी चर्चा की यह भावना कहीं से ठीक नहीं है कि एडीआर की रिपोर्ट का एक हिस्सा लेकर दूसरे दलों को भ्रष्ट ठहराया जाए और उसी रिपोर्ट में ख़ुद के ज़िक्र पर चुप रहा जाए। जाने अजनाने में बीजेपी ने इस विज्ञापन के ज़रिये एक अच्छा काम भी कर दिया है। यह स्वीकार किया है कि अज्ञात सोर्स से आमदनी राजनीतिक भ्रष्टाचार का ज़रिया है। एडीआर की रिपोर्ट का यह राजनीतिक इस्तमाल एडीआर के काम की विश्वसनीयता का प्रमाण बन गया है, भले ही राजनीतिक दल साल दर साल एडीआर की रिपोर्ट को अनदेखा करते रहे हों।

Courtesy: naisadak.org

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After DEC Vijay Deo Reviewed Poll Preps in UP, Early Polls Increases Trepidation amongsome Political Players

Deputy Election Commission, Vijay Deo’s survey of poll preparations in India’s most populous state, in the third week of December, as reported by PTI signals, in all likelihood, that elections will shortly be declared—over six phases—starting early-mid February 2017.

For different reasons, the Samajwadi Party (SP) that controls India’s most populous and politically significant state, Uttar Pradesh and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that rules the Centre, have been trying behind the scene efforts to get the elections to the state postponed beyond March 2015.

The former is yet to set its house in order with the power struggle between the old guard and new, and the saffron party, despite its posted-monetization bluster, is dreading the political fallout after the ground level fallouts of de-monetization. On December 22, prime minister Narendra Modi opted for a closed door meeting in Varanasi, his constituency, where despite his mockingbird tactics against Congress Vice President, Rahul Gandhi, speculation on the streets remains as to why he did not go in for a flamboyant public show!

In late November, the state government had tried, unsuccessfully to seal the issue by declaring examinations between February 10 and March 15,2017.  The EC had thereafter (mid December) summoned the state education secretary to New Delhi after this hastily declared notification, raising speculation about the fact that the ploy to get the state elections postponed may not work.

Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur and Goa are slated to go to elections and the EC needs to consider on the one hand the feasibility of simultaneous troop deployment and security in various states on the one hand and the fact that holding them one after the other would risk the poll outcomes in one state influencing another.

On a tour of the state and in the capital city of Lucknow, until December 22, Deputy Election Commissioner Vijay Deo has said voters of the Indian Defence services "for the first time" would be allowed to use e-postal ballots, after he reviewed the preparations in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. Reported PTI," For the first time, voters of the Indian Defence services would be allowed to use e-postal ballots and all police stations have been made the centre points of any criminal act during the election period and SHOs would be held responsible for it," he told reporters here after meeting state officials.

"The Election Model Code of Conduct would be strictly enforced in the state within 24 hours of the announcement of poll dates and the Commission would not allow any kind of relaxation in it," he said.

Directives have also been issued to make necessary preparations for the disabled at the polling booths, he said. Deo, who has held similar meetings in Varanasi, Allahabad and Kanpur, said he has been apprised of booths having Assured Minimum Facility, including toilets, drinking water and electricity.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Election Commission, said all political parties shall have to submit three copies of their election manifesto within three days of their release to the Chief Electoral Officer of the state.
 

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Photo credit: New Delhi News

The recently held Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Conference in Ajmer gave a call for Dalit Muslim unity. Laudable in its objectives because of the marginal positions of both these communities, it is but natural that they should come together to fight the perceived oppressions against them from the right wing parties, particularly the BJP which is understood as the party of Brahmanical dominance.

Given the fact that in a few months, there will be elections in Uttar Pradesh where both these sections can play a decisive role, the call assumed greater political significance. After all, Dalits have been out of power in Uttar Pradesh and Muslims have never been so marginal in terms of political representation in Uttar Pradesh.

Moreover, the Samajwadi Party (SP), the ruling party and the party of choice for Muslims ever since it came to power, has failed to protect the life and liberty of Muslims, especially in the last three years. With incidents like Muzzaffarnagar and the rhetoric of Kairana Hindu exodus, it was a natural thing for Muslims to look for a party other than the SP. They perhaps rightly think that it is only the BSP which has the potential to defeat the BJP electorally. 

From the Sachar Committee Report onwards, all analyses of the Muslim situation, particularly in the context of Uttar Pradesh, point towards the convergence of Muslim situation and the Dalit situation. In terms of representation as well as in terms of threat to identity, Muslims and Dalits today seem to be on the same scale of vulnerability. It would not be out of place to suggest that in terms of representation and other social indicators like education, Dalits seem to be catching up and in cases becoming better than the Muslims.

The Muslims, through years of faulty political choices, have lagged behind and are today in a situation where it would not be wrong to group them together with the Dalits. But more importantly, the threat to identity has assumed alarming proportions. Dalits and Muslims have been the victims of targeted attacks on the basis of their identity. While in some cases, it has been an assault from the right wing Hindu forces, in other cases, they have been attacked due to a perceived sense of upward mobility among them which is resented by the dominant middle castes.

It shouldn’t be surprising therefore if both these blocks come together under the umbrella of the BSP. The Jamiat Conference is merely articulating what seems to be the felt need within the Muslim community. The alliance will be formidable but will it also be sustaining and stable?

Historically Muslims have voted with the SP, the ruling party of Uttar Pradesh. In fact when Mayawati was voted out of power, it was the Muslim vote which shifted from the BSP to the SP. How then are we to believe that the alliance will stand the test of times? And what lies behind the ambivalence of the Muslim community to rally behind Mayawati?

Although all indicators suggest that Muslims are at the lowest rung of the ladder in Uttar Pradesh, the perception amongst Muslims continues to be that they are culturally the dominant community in Uttar Pradesh.

The answer perhaps lies in the self-perception of Muslims of Uttar Pradesh. Although all indicators suggest that Muslims are at the lowest rung of the ladder in Uttar Pradesh, the perception amongst Muslims continues to be that they are culturally the dominant community in Uttar Pradesh. There is an abject refusal to come to terms with the present situation and Muslims remain mired in the fantastic past in which they think themselves as large landlords, as the ones who brought civilisation to this part of India.

An average Muslim here is as caste conscious as an average upper caste Hindu. The problem is that even Muslims who belong to lower castes consider themselves to be firmly entrenched with the Ashraf culture of upper caste Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. The lower caste Muslim artisan or businessman who has seen economic upward mobility desires to be accepted within the upper caste Muslim subculture and for that reason denies his lower caste identity.

This denial is very important to understand why any lower caste Muslim mobilisation has not been successful within Uttar Pradesh. Because this denial leads them to consciously abrogate any ties which they have to other lower castes. Islam becomes the lone signifier in such a situation and secular identities like caste and region recede in the background. It is because of this that there is hardly any public proclamation of the acceptance of caste within Uttar Pradesh Muslim politics.

Thus in all probability, this alliance is going to be a political alliance of convenience. It would have been much better if this alliance would also become a social alliance between Dalits and Muslims. But for that to happen, Muslims have to engage with the entrenched caste practices and ideas within their own community. It is all very well to say that Islam does not recognise caste, but anyone who is familiar with Muslim society would say that Muslims are as casteist as the Hindu society.

Only through a thorough interrogation which is internal to the community, can one visualise a true Dalit-Muslim unity. It is heartening to note that the Jamiat has had the voice to articulate such a unity. A good start to show that they are serious about the issue would be to raise the issue of discrimination faced by the Muslim Dalits at the hand of upper caste Muslims.

(Arshad Alam is a NewAgeIslam.com columnist)

(This article was first published on New Age Islam).

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Image credit: Livemint
 
Ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Shah spoke on Sunday at BJP’s rally in Jhansi, where he had reportedly said that the Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP were full of “goondas”.
 
Speaking to the reporters at her residence on Monday, Mayawati attacked Shah saying: “BJP me toh itne naami giraami gunde hain, main inke naam ginane lag jaun, aur iski shuruaat Gujarat se hi hoti hai. Aur ye jo Amit Shah baat kar rahe hain, unka itihaas bhi aap log achchhe se janate hain (BJP has many notorious goons, and if I start counting their names then the list will start from Gujarat. You are all aware of the history of Amit Shah who has made this statement).”
 
According to the Express report, BJP has been attacking Naseemuddin Siddiqui, a BSP general secretary and the party’s Muslim face, ever since he led a dharna where alleged “obscene slogans” were raised against daughter and sister of former BJP leader Dayashankar Singh. Singh was earlier accused of making derogatory remarks about Mayawati.
 
Meanwhile, Mayawati also attacked Shah for his claim that if the illegal mining is stopped in Bundelkhand, every resident of the backward region will get enough money to buy a four-wheeler. She reportedly said the people of the region first need basic facilities like employment, water and electricity.
 
Countering Shah’s claim that the BSP rule in the state was devoid of any development, Mayawati said, “Our governments did not work for the development of capitalists and moneybags like the central government and the BJP-ruled states.” She said her government had started the Metro rail project in Noida and got built the Noida-Agra Expressway, besides laying the foundation work for metro rail in Lucknow, reported Express.

She also blamed SP for either stopping or renaming her government’s public welfare schemes. Mayawati  reiterated her demand of division of the state in four parts, saying that the resolution for UP’s division sent by her government in 2011 is still pending before the central government.
 
 

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