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Budaun case may hurt Mulayam politically

Backlash: SP may face situation similar to Ajit Singh's party
Last Updated 04 June 2014, 21:04 IST

The gang-rape and murder of two teenaged cousin sisters belonging to a backward caste in Budaun district could not have happened at a worse time for Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The incident could hurt the SP, which could win only five seats in the state in the recent Lok Sabha elections, ‘politically’ as there appeared to be widespread anger among the electorally important Shakya community, which has a sizable presence in the region and also in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency, where a by-poll would be held shortly.

Mulayam, who had won from Azamgarh and Mainpuri seats, had later resigned from Mainpuri and his grandson Tej Pratap is likely to be nominated from there as SP candidate. The seat is considered to be Mulayam pocket borough.

A large section of the backward community barring the Yadavs reportedly deserted the SP in the recent Lok Sabha polls and shifted to the BJP resulting in sharp decline in the vote share of the SP.

The SP had managed to win a large number of seats in the region in the 2012 Assembly polls in the state, largely owing to the support extended to it by the Yadavs and some other backward communities.

The ‘shakyas’ form around 20 per cent of the total electorate in Mainpuri and their anger could cost the SP its support in the bypoll as and when it is held.

The Budaon incident has put the SP government in a fix, at least politically. The accused belong to the ‘yadav’ community while the victims are `shakyas'. The SP cannot afford to displease the ‘yadavs’, who are its backbone, at least electorally.

“Its a situation akin to the devil and the deep sea....we cannot be seen to be offending any of the communities as there may be a backlash”, admitted an SP leader here, speaking to Deccan Herald.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) faced a similar situation after last year’s communal riots in Muzaffarnagar that broke the Jat-Muslim bonds. Jats and Muslims were the vote bank of the RLD and in its attempt to placate both, the party lost their support almost completely and could not win even a single seat in UP.

No wonder the government is treading very cautiously in the matter and quickly agreed for a CBI probe, if only to pass the buck to the Centre.

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(Published 04 June 2014, 20:00 IST)

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