The strange happenings in the Samajwadi Party (SP) have emboldened Mayawati, leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to pitch her hopes high about the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections. She has said that the BSP is now way ahead with the BJP a distant second. The SP is now in shambles with internal squabbles. She rubbished Akhilesh Yadav’s claim that his party has severed links with criminals and said it has surrounded itself with a new gang. His claims on reforms and development are without substance. He has also proved his party’s links with the minority community are no longer firm. The BSP on the other hand has garnered considerable Muslim support owing to the SP’s instigation. Muslims are determined not to repeat their mistake that they made in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014. Dalits and Muslims account for a third of UP’s electorate. The BSP however does not want an alliance of Dalits and Muslims at the cost of other communities. Her party has adequate representation from all castes and communities.
The BJP is not a viable challenge either. Its overtures to Dalits can have no effect. Rohit Vemula’s suicide and the atrocities on Dalits in Gujarat have counteracted that. The Congress has of course been nowhere in UP for a long time. Mayawati thinks it is pointless on the part of the Congress to parade its candidate for Chief Ministership, Sheila Dikshit as a UP Brahmin. She is actually a Punjabi who married a UP Brahmin. Besides, she blamed migrants from UP for crimes and other problems in Delhi while she was its Chief Minister. Mayawati’s optimism is not to be treated lightly. The SP has very little time to regroup. The BJP may not find it easy to repeat the miracle of Assam. Its RSS links in UP are pretty strong. However, the Dadri outrage cannot be wiped out.