Caste casts its shadow on UP again

Poll factor: All major parties banking on support of communities

Major stakeholders in Uttar Pradesh may be making tall claims and their leaders criss-crossing the length and breath of the state, but the forthcoming Assembly elections by and large are turning out to be a dull affair with no wave or undercurrent making the contestants to revert to the old and time-tested formula of “wooing the biradari” (caste) for victory.

With the Election Commission keeping a hawk’s eye on the contestants, the campaigning has also ceased to be a noisy affair barring allegations and counter allegations.

Although political outfits have been making tall claims, the voters have maintained a studied silence preferring to keep their cards close to their chest, giving sleepless nights to the contestants.

The absence of any dominant issue and any discernible wave in favour of any one, the political parties have returned to the caste card. And everyone is busy doing calculations to find out if the caste arithmetic favours them.

If Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is banking on the :Dalit-Brahmin-Muslim” combination to return to power, her arch rival Mulayam Singh Yadav has high expectations from his Yadav community and Muslims.

Political analysts are sceptical about the success of Mayawati’s “social engineering” formula this time. The Brahmins do not appear to be happy with Mayawati and may not support her, they say.

Mulayam has been trying hard to show that his party has changed after Akhilesh Yadav has taken over the charge. Computers and English are now integral to party’s scheme of things unlike before. “We are heavily banking on our biradari (Yadavs)  for success,” said one Samajwadi Party (SP) leader.

The Congress is not only banking on Rahul Gandhi charisma but also on the “Brahmin-Muslim-Dalit” combination for its revival in the state. For the record, the party has been showcasing its government’s flagship schemes to harp on the development plank. Rahul has been sweating hard to revive the Congress in the state as he fully knows the importance of these polls, which will have a bearing on the big battle to be fought at the Centre in 2014.

The BJP has been playing the OBC card to the hilt and even projected an Uma Bharti as its leader in the state. “If Uma Bharti brings in the OBC vote in sufficient numbers and the Brahmins also extend support, the BJP stands a good chance at the polls,” claimed a leader.

Smaller parties are also there to spoil the party. Peace Party, a relatively new outfit, has been giving nightmares to major stakeholders at several places in the eastern region.

A majority of pre-poll surveys and the pundits have predicted a hung Assembly with the SP of Mulayam Singh Yadav emerging as the single biggest block followed by the BSP. They have also predicted gains for the Congress with the BJP remaining where it is.

But the predictions by poll analysts had gone horribly wrong in the 2007 assembly polls. No one had then predicted an absolute majority for Mayawati. And almost all the parties have rejected them this time also.