In the renewed rise of Mayawati, Satish Mishra had played a big role especially in bringing other sections of the society to Dalit base of BSP. He helped in easing up Taj Corridor pressure on Mayawati. He also had helped Mayawati in poll campaigns and planning. He had become right hand man of Mayawati and a close confidant. Satish Mishra reminded her of her late mentor Kanshiram.
Mayawati’s new cabinet was proportionately represented by the sections of her support base, old Dalit base and new supporters like Brahmins, Muslims, traders, Thakurs etc. During the oath taking ceremony members of different section were sitting together with a new found spirit of unity and equality.
Her press conference in Delhi was unusually crowded as if media were covering the news about political UFO. This time Mayawati was not tense while facing the press. She was smiling. Victory makes all the difference. Bigger surprise was that Manuist media that often mocked at Mayawati for her crudity, rustic attitude and uncivil expressions was present in full force to hear her in the grand ballroom of a five star hotel. The hall was packed with 1000 journalists and editors in their immaculate suits.
It was the same press that tarnished the image of the Dalit leader, created problems and hurdles for her. She cast a sweeping glance at the crowd and all of a sudden Mayawati stopped smiling. Then she cheerfully advised the detractors to do some introspection. When the media person began to quarrel to put questions, Mayawati mocked at them saying they did not even have the manners to ask questions. Now even her rebuke did not hurt media. It infact admired the wit of Mayawati, the victor. When she wound up her address like a stern teacher Mayawati asked the media persons to go and feed themselves in dinning hall before the food gets cold. Like obedient students press persons trooped to the dining tables and began devouring the food offered by Mayawati. Nothing succeeds like success and the people saw it on that day with their own eyes.
There were several reasons for the defeat of SP in UP. BSP used more clever strategies with clear game plan and it had the astute leadership of Mayawati. Samajwadi Party in its last months had become totally directionless. Scandals and worsening law and order situation had tarnished its image. Mulayam Singh Yadav was a confused person and under attack from all directions. Congress was coming hard at him. Even BJP and Congress got blown away in BSP storm.
Victory has many hangers on but defeat has none. The unprecedented victory of BSP was bringing in laurels and tributes to Mayawati from all sides. Former CM Mulayam Singh was being criticised and faulted from every conceivable angle. He had become a new whipping boy. His style of functioning, policies, mindset and behaviour were under scrutiny. Then, there were probes against him. Some were writing epitaph for SP and Mulayam Singh.
Merely losing power on the basis of the seats won by a party does not mean it has lost its support base. Infact, Samajwadi Party had improved its vote percentage yet lost 50 seats compared to last time. It was a funny side of electoral process. For Mulayam Singh more vote meant fewer seats. In 172 constituencies SP candidates were runners up. That was remarkable. Mulayam Singh was now out of power but not out of favour with voters. He still was a big force. Infact, bad show of BJP made all the difference. A good show from it could have benefited SP as well. Had Congress been able to regain its lost support base that would have affected all other parties and the results could have been different. From 25 seats it slipped down to 22 seats inspite of hard work put in by Rahul Gandhi. But it was a temporary phenomenon for Congress. The good work done and the positive impression created by Rahul brought Congress in fray two years later in 2009 Lok Sabha polls when Congress gave SP and BSP run for their money.
The real loser was BJP. All the seats wrested by BSP from others mostly belonged to BJP. Muslim votes largely stayed with SP. Infact Mulayam Singh Yadav failed to come up with counter caste equation strategy to defeat BSP game plan. SP supremo thought he was up against BSP, BJP and Congress. That misjudgement cost him dear. In reality the BJP and Congress turned out to be only fringe players. SP could have concentrated on BSP strategy of caste equation.
Some people thought Mulayam Singh had moved away from his Samajwadi agenda. Some blamed it on Amar Singh who had collected a crowd of film stars and turned Samajwadi Party into filmi tamasha. There was some truth in it. Amar Singh managed to remain in media glare through his association with film stars. That created a negative impression in the public. Mulayam Singh allowed a free run to Amar Singh which was not liked by other Samajwadi associates and leaders but they would not say it openly because Amar Singh had the ear of the SP supremo.
Later, around the 2009 Lok Sabha polls differences appeared in SP. Some leaders openly expressed dislike of Amar Singh’s filmi tamasha. In a bizarre move Amar Singh brought Kalyan Singh into SP fold as its ally. Kalyan Singh was the person who was mainly responsible for the demolition of Babri Masjid. It angered the Muslim supporters of SP. But Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh thought Muslim would stay with them inspite of Kalyan Singh on the plea that it was being done to decimate BJP. The election results did not please Mulayam Singh. Congress indeed had made inroads in the Muslim support base of SP. The two parties tallied almost equal number of Lok Sabha seats from UP. The Congress had made a come back at the cost of SP and BJP.
In a later by-election Samajwadi Party fielded Pinky, the daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav. The seat was vacated by Samajwadi Party and it was considered pocket burrow of Yadavas. Congress party fielded Raj Babbar, the film star who had come to the party after revolting against Amar Singh’s influence in SP. A bitter election campaign followed.
To the shock of Samajwadi Party, Pinky lost to Raj Babbar by a huge margin. It was shocking for Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family.
Amar Singh alleged that Samajwadi Party had become a family affair of Mulayam Singh. It showed something was going wrong between Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh. Later, the brother of Mulayam Singh criticised Amar Singh for the ruin of the Samajwadi Party. Amar Singh threatened to resign from the party. This time Mulayam was in a different mood. He did not placate Amar Singh as he always used to do.
Thus, Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh parted ways. The film stars distanced from Samajwadi Party. The party again reverted to its rural base. Now the party was against English education, computers and even cricket terming it an alien influence that was destroying native sports.
But surely Mulayam can’t be written off. Even against heavy odds he managed to improve SP vote share. That was incredible.
Earlier three times Mayawati had to use the support of other parties as crutches. But the fourth time was different. She was on her own firm legs. No support needed anymore and that would allow her to implement her agenda and policies freely.
The chairman of Constitutional Draft Committee, Dr. Ambedkar had warned our democracy would be in danger if we failed to give political power to the exploited, persecuted and deprived sections of our society. I have no hesitation in saying that so far the power in our country had been in a few hands for a long time. This monopoly over political power has kept the majority of our population deprived of better opportunities in life and even the very basic necessities of life.
About the interest of the scheduled classes most of the parties have only been paying lip service only. The result was that the power remained concentrated in the hands of upper castes and powerful middle class. Although scheduled classes were given reservations in government services and the educational institutions, yet political power had remained out of their reach like before.
Thus the majority gained by BSP, the party of Dalits in UP assembly was very significant as it symbolised the devolution of power to the exploited and deprived classes. At last it had happened 60 years after the country gained independence. It is never too late the bitterness amongst the Dalits and the exploited sections that nothing really good of meaningful was coming there way will get a bit sweetened due to the success of Mayawati.
It is ironic that Dr. Ambedkar met little success inspite of being the pioneer who spread the awareness amongst the Dalits. His political ventures in Labour Party or Republican Party could not give political identity. That fact was recognised by Kanshiram 30 years after the death of Baba Saheb. He realised Dalits need a poliical identity to wage war for its fundamental rights.
That is how BAMSEF idea was born. It stood for Backwards And Minorities Employees Federation. As BAMSEF grew from strength to strength, the goal of the political party of Dalits came closer and closer. In the decade of 80s ‘DS-4’ was born. It registered its presence in 1984 Lok Sabha polls from UP.
In the Lok Sabha elections after the assassination of Indira Gandhi Congress swept away all the other parties due to sympathy wave in its favour. In 1985 ‘DS-4’ transformed into a real political party as ‘Bahujan Samaj Party’.
First BSP concentrated on garnering Dalit and backward votes only. Then it worked to gain the support of Muslims. The result was encouraging. In 1999 Lok Sabha polls BSP won 14 seats.
BSP realised that although Dalits were solidly behind it yet the Muslim votes it had to share with SP. Its vote share was 22-24%. It was insufficiant to gain it power in assembly.
In the last two decades many regional and caste based parties have come up. No one has enough vote bank to challenge Congress or BJP. They only make the contests three cornered, four cornered or even more cornered. No party can get majority on its own. Coalitions are becoming rule of the day. To get out of this trap BSP decided to expand its support base to cover up the vote percentage gaps to gain majority on its own.
Under the new strategy it approached Brahmins, traders and others with olive branch because Mayawati felt the newly empowered OBCs posed greater danger to her people than the traditional upper castes.
For the idealists, advocates of social change and the empowerment of deprived classes and believers of democracy as an instrument of justice, 2007 was a significant year. They saw the power of the biggest state of India in terms of population transfering into the hands of the Dalits through democratic and constitutional means. The Maoists and Naxalites have been trying hard to seize power by destroying the system for which they tried hard to gain the support of Dalits. Inspite of that the majority of the Dalits kept their faith and trust in peaceful democratic means. The Dalits had bore the brunt of the extreme injustice, brutaity, deprivation and humiliation for ceuturies like the one another community in the world has ever suffered. The patience, endurance and forbearance of Indian Dalits is incredible. Long time ago Dr. Ambedkar had warned that deprived class has lost its patience and its hunger for justice will not allow it to join class struggle. But the Dalits used patience reposing their faith in the rays of hope they saw in new brand of Dalit crusaders like Kanshiram and Mayawati.
The faith of the Dalits was redeemed by Mayawati who led them to power whereas those who opted the path of violence like Naxalites and Maoists are still away from power as far as they were 60 years ago and odds against their success are shooting up. Another fringe benefit of the success of Mayawati can be lessening of the caste tension in the society. Upper most caste, Brahmins and the lowest caste Dalits have come together to forge an alliance under BSP. A section of traders (Bania) has become BSP supporter. Political level unity of traditionally antagonistic castes may enentually create a rainbow of good will at social level. Age old prejudices and antagonisms may fade away. The sentiment might percolate to other castes who are out of this BSP spectrum and the country is blessed with atmosphere free of caste based bitterness.
BSP tried to repeat its UP experiment in other states as well where elections were held. But the party failed miserably. But from a UP based regional force BSP would be expanding due to its new strategies and approach to others. At least at state level BSP has dealt an incalculable damage to BJP and Congress. BJP has been the real loser because Congress seemed to have recovered ground by 2009 Lok Sabha polls evident by its excellent showing. The way things are going it appears that UP is heading for a three way battle between BSP, SP and new kid on the block Congress party. It is not yet clear how it will fare at state level. Will it be able to give SP and BSP the run for their money like it did in Lok Sabha elections of 2009. A lot of factors it will depend on. The biggest of weaknes of Congress is it has no star face in UP to enthuse people like its rival have got in Mayawati and Mulayam Singh.
After taking over as chief minister of UP Mayawati visited Delhi. Sonia Gandhi received her warmly and the two leader discussed matters for about 90 minutes. Then she met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. It was a courtesy call, an opportunity to convey the financial needs of the state and discuss the matter.
Mayawati was full of spirit as no one could threaten her to pull down her government. She had majority of her own. After a short time in the chair of chief ministership she sent a long list of her demands for UP to the Prime Minister. She had demanded a package of Rs. 80,000 crores for various needs of the state. She also suggested some changes in the law.
Prime Minister was already under pressure over the demand for special rights quota of the sections of scheduled castes and tribes. The demands of Mayawati increased the pressure. The demands of Mayawati had the request for earliest fulfilment. It was the period when Indo-US Nuclear deal was under debate and Dr. Manmohan Singh was under considerable pressure. The detractors of the treaty was raising hue and cry. At international level too the treaty was being scrutinized at various levels. Pro and anti deal forces were slugging it out. After a lot of consideration PM decided to put the demands of Mayawti in shelf for the time being and go to USA to push the deal through.
In August, 2007 in a public meeting Mayawati criticized Dr. Manmohan Singh saying, “I had met the Prime Minister and demanded special economic package for backward areas of Purvanchal and Bundelkhand but unfortunately he has not cared to reply even. Obviously Congress only cares for prestigeous corporate instead of the poor and the deprived masses.
In many other states we are going to establish ourselves and the day is not far when we shall be ruling Delhi. Then it would be too far the Congress to realise its mistake of ignoring us.”
The victory in UP had sent the morale of Mayawati soaring sky high. Her supporters and the national politics had great expectations of her. For many it was the ‘Maya Age’ and the ‘height of Dalit Politics.’
In some ways it was the first time when some one had won election on simple wish and gained power. However 2007 UP elections had once again proved that root cause of the problems of India was caste system. The fate of parties and leaders was decided by caste equations.
The fashionable debate on the issues of progress and development may go on endlessly but voting takes place guided by caste and communal considerations. If the pepole of India don’t come together honestly to destroy caste system and its religious bias the dictatorship of caste and religion will continue.
As far as Mayawati’s miracle was concerned it was the first time that Dalits and their party BSP had been delivered from the machinations of hostile and aggressive Hindu parties. Since Mayawati had to seek the support of BJP to come to power on all the three earlier occasions the programme groups of Dalits and especially its intellectual unit had been critical of the deals party leaders had indulged in. That element could now fade away. In the new scenario the policies of Mayawati could be based on solid intellectual input.
Although most of the political observers have given the credit of BSP victory to Dalit-Brahmin equation yet it should not be forgotten that almost all sections of the society had contributed to it for their own reasons. Mayawati had appeared to be a force that could deliver people from caste-religious exploitation, hostility of backward classes, arrogance of minority forces and deprivation of the Brahmins and other upper castes of power and opportunities for almost 2½ decades.
Retaining the support of different section is never easy, especially when the sections had been antagonistic and traditional rivals. The frictions can flare up in times leading to disunity or old prejudices may return to displace the new political understanding. Caste system is difficult to break in Indian society. Mayawati will have to use all her political acumen and craft to keep the flock together. The spirit of cooperation and peaceful co-existence in common political space must continue.
One of the shortcomings of BSP is that it has no local leaders at various places to take charges of the region like Mayawati had domain case of UP. Why hasn’t the party thrown up local leaders or second rung leadership? There appears to be some structural defect in the party or grooming process is not there or not allowed to evolve for the pleasure of top leadership. This can be a pointer to the fact that to a great extent the arrogance of Maywati is destroying the future of BSP. She had expelled several veteran leaders for one reason or other who had worked shoulder to shoulder with Kanshiram in raising and nursing the party. Many of them went to other parties and the rest became inactive in utter despondency. If all those leaders could be brought back to the fold other regions or states might also have effective BSP units who may powerful outfits like UP. But for that Mayawati must sacrifice some of her monopolistic ego and inculcate accommodating attituded. At present BSP had not got even one leader who could work miracle like Mayawati in his own small region, forget about the whole state. That is a big drawback.
Congress who also beset with the same problem. It functioned under one person dictatorship of a certain family. That person existed like a banyan tree under which nothing grew. But under Sonia Gandhi things have changed. She put an economist Dr. Manmohan Singh in the PM’s chair and herself remained president of the party and the chairperson of UPA. Her children spurned offers of ministership. Thus the family stayed away from executive posts although it exercised overwhelming political power. Being the biggest party it had to groom state level leaderships to run the states. Then around Rahul Gandhi the party has groomed an army of young lieutenants who can held sway on their own. In fact this youth power of the Congress is the biggest threat to other political outfits. And to sum the central government the party had to provide talented leadership in various fields to man various ministries.
Congress has impressive mix of experienced hands technically educated people to head various departments and faculties. It has formidable array of youth leadership in each state. Congress is no more a one man show. It may only be true when vote catching is concerned otherwise the Congress is a well balanced party. It is packed with too many educated and professionally skilled entities that brazen arrogance won’t worth here. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul understand it. The fact is that Congress and BSP represent vastly different categories of pepole at social, educational, economic and cultural levels at two extremes. One is convent educated suave, well groomed, financially secure and heir to the fantastic legacies while the Mayawati end is of an educated, crude, ill groomed, economically weakest and victims of injusties for ages.
Dalit politics always needed a dominating personality to attract the attention of the people and show them hope he could wage a battle for them. Even been exploited whoever Dalit is able to rise becomes monopolistic or dictratorial as the section has failed to wage a collective war due to ignorances and individual vulnerabilities.
The Republican Party formed by Baba Saheb fell to pieces once he was gone. It disintergrated into several factions and every faction was headed by a monopolistic character. Every leader of Repulican faction became dependent on Congress, BJP or Shiv Sena for his own survival. Due to the unprincipled opportunistic policies of Republican leaders Dalits deserted them and went to the fold of BSP and Mayawati in several states. Dalits must learn a lesson from the fate of Republican Party or they will again suffer similar agonies.
The important problem before Mayawati will be to work out a clever internal equation because the upper castes who have joined forces with her at political level have no relationship with the principles upon which Kanshiram found BSP guided by the spirit of Dr. Ambedkar. They are with BSP for their own political existence and economic benefits. When the fundamental principles of BSP will be applied pratically the new adherents may not oppose directly but their communities shall oppose vehemently. Under the leadership of Mayawati unshakable commitment of Dalit votes is the sole asset and key of Dalit-Brahmin equation.
During 2007 elections of UP, BSP has been able to come out of its narow political ideolegy to a new broad circles that includes the concerns of the sections others than Dalits as well. Its slogan is now “For everyone’s good and everyone’s happiness.” This new ladder of common good gained Mayawati an unprecedented success and gave democracy a new dimension.
Without any doubt in the 60 year history of independet India, the becoming of Mayawati the chief minister of UP on her own strength was an important milestone. The earlier times when she or other Dalit became CM of a state it was just a trade off or partronising gift of members of upper castes. So enthused were her supporters that that they openly said they wanted to see ‘Bahanji’ as the Prime Minister of India.
Earlier Dalit chief minister had no agenda of their own. They worked according to the diktats of their party. But Mayawati is the product of independent Dalit movement that had its own clear cut agenda and goal. The movement had its own distinct war cry and slogans.
In the battle of hustings other parties gave BSP a walk over as far as Dalit vote bank was concerned. They didn’t even try to attract Dalit knowing well that it would be a waste of energy because they were committed to BSP and Mayawati. Only the Congress made some attempts to make inroads into Dalit community as it tried to regain its lost Dalit and Muslim vote bank. The result of assembly polls did not show any success in that attempt but in Lok Sabha polls there were some gains. It was perhaps due to Rahul Gandhi staying at Dalit homes, eating with them and interacting with Dalits in their colonies, some positive impact was surely made.
But this attempt created bitterness between Congress and Mayawati who felt that the Gandhi scion was openly poaching into her turf. The two parties traded wild charges against each other viciating their relationship. In the coming time the tussle and bitterness between Congress and BSP may increase as the 2012 assembly polls for UP draw closer.
In 2007 Dalits stood solidly behind Maywati. BSP won 62 reserved seats out of 89. It is a kind of record and pointer to the fact that Dalits no more trust any Dalit leader of any party other than BSP. Congress, BJP and SP have a number of Dalits leaders but ineffective with Dalit voters due to BSP and Maya factor. Earlier BSP used to win only 22-25 percent of the reserved seats.
Meanwhile, Mayawati appears to be functioning rising above caste and communal factors. She has learnt to handle subordinates, IAS and IPS officers at normal official level. She has clearly told the officers that they are servants of the people and not masters. To her over bearing partymen she made it clear that no one was above laws. A few of her partymen who were habitual law breakers were sent to jail. Lately she started getting rid of the leades who had criminal image and were proclaimed offenders.
Some detractors see BSP movement as expansion of casteism. BSP has also been accused of being bereft of political ideology and hungry for power only. But the scene has now changed. By organising groups on caste and religious lines BSP has only brought them together as a political force instead of creating divisions. Dalits, backwards, banias, Brahmins, Muslim and Thakurs all won seats on BSP tickets. It is infact the victory of Indian democratic process where the person at the lowet rung of social structure reached the highest level of power overcoming caste and gender hurdles.
Having gained the chief ministership of UP the sight of Mayawati now set on the Red Fort of Delhi from where a Dalit Prime Minister would address the nation on one 15th August in future.
