New battle ground drawn in UP?

The Congress-BSP turf war in Uttar Pradesh seems to have intensified in recent times.
Rahul Gandhi's increased frequency of visits in UP, the state once Congress party's bastion, has further infuriated UP Chief Minister Mayawati.

Rahul Gandhi has been wooing Dalit voters in the state, who now form the biggest chunk of Maya's vote bank. His repeated attack on the UP chief minister also fueled the fire.

The Congress, which has been desperately trying to restore its lost pride in the state, openly warmed up to Mayawati before the Assembly polls but the resounding success of the Dalit leader in the elections that followed poured cold water on Congress' plans.

A disappointed Congress, which did very badly in the assembly polls under Rahul Gandhi, realised that without UP, the party's prospects at the Centre were dim.

Congress strategy to field the Gandhi heir in UP politics led to a little sense of insecurity for Maya. She, in order to keep her base intact started attacking Rahul. Now the two parties are engaged in regular verbal duel.

Though, Rahul has been visiting various parts of the state espousing the cause of farmers, Dalits, minorities and OBCs, but the recent by-election results in the state show that Maya's influence does not seem to stop.
Mayawati in her own inimitable style has now demanded that the Centre giver her special package for drought hit Bundelkhand region or else she will withdraw support from the UPA government at the Centre.

The situation seems to have come to a flash point and it is likely that Mayawati will withdraw support any time soon.

Now it is to be seen how it affects at the national level as well crucial state of UP. Right now, BSP seems to have the edge but the Congress is trying hard to revive its past glory in the state, which returns maximum MPs to Parliament.

Is Mayawati's prime ministerial ambition coming in the way for a truce between Congress and BSP?

Is Congress ready to accept the fact that the days of its dominance are gone, and that an assertive Dalit leader like Mayawati should be given the chance to rule the country.

UP Elections

Uttar Pradesh elections. Gosh! Very crucial event in our country’s political arena. Whole of the country’s eyes will be fixed on the outcome of this politically volatile state. But, it is pretty hard to predict who’s going to win the race. Winning the political battlefield here is not a piece of cake as many factors come into play like muscle power, money power & of course, the electorate. The state has seen many ups & downs, numerous setbacks & bitter power plays by the political giants in order to win the booty i.e. Right to Govern. The major players in the political arena are Congress, the BJP, SP, BSP & other minor regional parties which come in handy in swinging the final result.

No government in UP has lasted a full term in the last two decades. Mulayam Singh, whose current innings began in 2003, has had the longest unstinted run. But, yet again, stirrings of change have begun to surface. It is not about any external threats, but the serious undercurrents that are sure to give him a serious blow. The threat comes to this SP govt. from what has been his stronghold in the state- the Dalits, the Backwards & the Muslims. Mayawati’s BSP & V P Singh’s Jan Morcha has been working overtime to make sure Mulayam does not retain power. Apart from that, the general image of the govt. among its subjects is also not very satisfactory. The people are generally apprehensive about the deteriorating law & order problem in the state, unbridled corruption & very little development. So, the Mulayam govt. is losing its hold in the state.

Apart from that, the Congress & the BJP has also started gearing up for the decisive battle. Congress President Sonia Gandhi had launched her election campaign as early as last year when she resigned from the post of the Chairman of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation under the Office of Profit row. She had done so keeping in mind the assembly elections of UP. After that, she also contested the Rae Bareilly seat, Congress’s traditional hold, to win over the hearts of the people. But, apart from Rae Bareilly & few other pockets, Congress is not a dominant force to be of any threat in the poll battle. Similarly, the BJP hopes to revive its fortunes in the state with its age old agenda of building Ram temple in Ayodhya which has very few takers. On top of that, they still believe that the party can make govt. on its own without resorting to any coalition. This, again, is a claim which has lost its relevance in today’s times, especially in a state which has so many communal biases & is divided on so many ideologies that a single party rule is next to impossible.

Keeping in mind these factors & considering the nature of the electorate, it is, therefore, a safe bet to forecast that the state will throw up a fractured verdict. No single party commands such a support so as to form a govt. So, the real battle will start after the results have come in. They will test the political bigwigs as who is better networked into other parties & who commands the best & the biggest financial resources to swing the final verdict his way and in this regard, Mulayam is having an edge over others with his leading strategist Amar Singh & banker friend Anil Ambani.