Mayawati proves BSP clout, sweeps UP Council polls

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati could not have hoped for a better birthday gift as her party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, swept the biennial elections to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council winning 31 of the 33 seats for which results were declared on Jan 13. It secured majority in the Upper House for the first time.

The results stunned the crisis-ridden main opposition, the Samajwadi Party, which won just one seat. It had held 22 of these seats. The BJP which had held six of these seats, drew a blank, which should be a matter of worry for the new party chief Nitin Gadkari.

True to her extravagant style, the BSP’s Dalit leader has planned a grand celebration of her birthday on January 15. Huge arches dot the Lucknow landscape, while the city has been brightly illuminated for the functions expected to be attended by thousands of her supporters.

The Congress fared no better. It managed to win only the Rae Bareli seat, but its candidate lost in Sultanpur which includes Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Amethi. The results were proof that though Mayawati is hounded by many corruption cases, as far as UP is concerned, no one can match her popularity. It was also a clear message to the Congress that it still has a long way to go despite Rahul Gandhi’s frequent forays into the state, and the party’s attack on the Chief Minister’s policies. Food and Agriculture MinisterSharad Pawar has sought to blame the UP government for the high sugar prices.

The BSP ‘s strength in the 100-member Legislative Council has gone up to 53. It may further increase its tally when the results of the remaining seats — Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Meerut are declared.

For the SP, the humiliation was complete as it suffered defeat in its traditional stronghold including Etawah, Etah, Mainpuri and Firozabad. SP’s drubbing in the Council polls came barely two months after it failed to retain the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat in a by-election. The party could not win any of the 11 Assembly seats where by-elections were held simultaneously. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has been unable till now to make party strategist Amar Singh take back his resignation from party posts, though he had not resigned from the party. The RLD too drew a blank on 33 seats.

The change in composition of the Upper House means the ruling BSP can now push whatever legislation it wants without fear of rejection in the Council. In past three years, it had to face embarrassment on several occasions when opposition parties, which dominated the House, stalled or voted out its proposals. Now the combined opposition strength is reduced to 33, including 14 of the SP, BJP’s 10, RLD’s six and three of the Congress. Other non-BSP members are non-political.

Chief Minister Mayawati described the victory of her party as the victory of its policy of ‘sarvjan hitay, sarvjan sukhay’, congratulated party workers and thanked the voters for rejecting the opposition parties. She said her party had given ticket to candidates from all sections of society. Hitting back at the Centre for blaming the states for price rise, Mayawati on Jan 14 charged the government with working under the influence of capitalists, and threatened a nation-wide campaign if no steps were taken to curb inflation.

Demoralised, the SP blamed the Election Commission for its failure to hold “free and fair polls.” State Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi claimed the BSP victory was the result of misuse of the government machinery and did not reflect popular sentiment. State BJP president Ramapati Tripathi also attributed the BSP’s victory to the alleged misuse of government machinery.

- Asian Tribune -