BSP and BJP Seek to Make Political Capital of Dayashankar Episode

The BSP-BJP tussle hinges on upper caste voters in the upcoming UP Assembly elections, writes Vivek Awasthi.

In reacting to the defamatory barbs of expelled Uttar Pradesh leader, Dayashankar Singh, of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party seems to have lost track in the run-up to the State Assembly elections.

The BSP’s romping home with 206 seats in the state in 2007 was primarily thanks to the party’s strategy of social engineering and taking into its fold all classes, especially the upper caste. It formed the government riding on the plank of social engineering on the lines of “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay”.

According to estimates, there are 21 percent Scheduled Caste voters in Uttar Pradesh, and once combined with 13 percent Brahmin, 8 percent Thakur, and some percentage of OBC voters, the BSP becomes a formidable social force capable of challenging other parties.

BSP’s Social Engineering

BSP supremo Mayawati perhaps played the social engineering card most intelligently in 2007. She gave preference to both Brahmin and Thakur candidates across different seats that had strong presence of upper castes.

The Dalit vote, which is a huge non-transferable chunk, remains intact and solidly behind Mayawati. But what made the difference in 2007 was the upper caste vote that allowed the BSP to rule for five years.

Wooing Caste Groups

Dayashankar’s use of foul language and its consequent fallout has been exploited politically by both the BSP and the BJP. While Dayashankar Singh’s use of intemperate language initially appeared to queer the pitch for the BJP, the saffron party was quick to jettison him and reclaim some ground by trying to consolidate upper caste voters.

On her part, when Mayawati took the moral high ground, backed by an overenthusiastic BSP general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui, it prompted her party workers to hit the road, demanding Dayashankar’s ouster. The derogatory remarks and slogans employed by the BSP workers against him and his family members, especially his wife and daughter, were not lost on the BJP.

Backed by the BJP, Dayashankar’s wife appeared on national television, condemning what they described as retaliatory and personal attacks against women. She even chided Mayawati for targeting them for no reason and reminded her that she was a woman, too.

The BJP saw in this political capital, seizing on the opportunity offered by the BSP to woo and consolidate upper caste votes. The BJP’s Mahila Morcha took to the streets across the state, descrying the barbs against women members of Dayashankar’s family.

Splitting the Social Coalition

In fact, the BJP now seeks to wean away sections of the upper caste that had supported the BSP in 2007. BJP leaders have hinted that Dayashankar’s wife, Swati Singh, would likely be fielded as a party candidate in the forthcoming polls. At the same time, by targeting Siddiqui, the BJP has sought to polarise the electorate.

But sensing the BJP’s moves and their likely fallout, Mayawati reportedly instructed her party leaders to soften their stand against Singh’s family. Instead, she dared UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to immediately arrest Dayashankar. She has been quoted as saying that if Akhilesh calls her bua (father’s sister), he should have Dayashankar arrested.

She knows that the old BSP slogan “Hathi Nahi Ganesh Hai, Brahma Vishnu Mahesh Hai” would be a hollow cry if upper caste voters, including Brahmins and Thakurs, desert the party.

(The writer is a tele-based freelance journalist.)