Just a few days before India's much-awaited Assembly elections in India's northern state Uttar Pradesh (UP), a politician switched camps and caused a massive stir.&nbsp;

Once a star campaigner of India's opposition party Indian National Congress in UP, Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh recently joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - the ruling party in the state and the country.&nbsp;

His move was a massive setback to Congress, which is looking forward to reviving itself in the state by winning more seats than previous elections.&nbsp;

In Uttar Pradesh, Congress has remained out of power for three decades and only managed seven seats in the 403-member state Assembly in 2017.

<img alt="RPN SIngh" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="525a4026-6230-44d8-b8b9-718a01cd3dca" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/20220125108L_0.jpg" />

RPN Singh, who is a prominent figure in the politics of eastern UP, was named as a "star campaigner" by the Congress party.

He&nbsp;resigned in a dramatic way as he posted his resignation to party chief Sonia Gandhi on Twitter.&nbsp;He wrote in the caption: "Today, at a time, we are celebrating the formation of our great Republic, I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind."&nbsp;

RPN Singh, popularly known as 'Raja Saheb of Padrauna' (a scion of the royal family from Padrauna), became youth Congress President of Uttar Pradesh in 1997 and AICC Secretary in 2003.&nbsp;

Singh was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009 as he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kushinagar constituency in the fifteenth Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014.&nbsp;

<img alt="RPN SIngh" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9140d2d4-e89a-487b-9ebf-eada0739135f" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/20220125106L.jpg" />

The move might favour BJP to a large extent as the party is trying to compensate the vacuum of a 'kurmi' leader (OBC in eastern Uttar Pradesh) after Swami Prasad Mourya's recent exit from the party.&nbsp;

Reports have also stated that the Yogi Adityanath government may field Singh from Padrauna Assembly constituency under Kushi Nagar district, the seat he represented thrice from 1996 to 2007.&nbsp;

Singh had defeated Maurya from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. However, Singh lost both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Kushinagar.&nbsp;

On the other hand, Maurya, who is the sitting MLA of the Vidhan Sabha recently joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) - a party gunning to win the upcoming polls in the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav.&nbsp;

For the unversed, in the 2017 UP Assembly polls, Maurya had won the constituency for BJP. If he fights against RPN Singh from the Padrauna constituency, it will be a battle to watch out for.&nbsp;

After resigning, Singh further said, "This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation-building under the visionary leadership &amp; guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi, BJP president Shri @JPNadda ji &amp; Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji."&nbsp;

Also, it is important to note that Singh has definitely spiced up the battle in a small city in UP, but his switch might not impact the narratives pan-UP.&nbsp;

But quitting the party is a big blow because he was considered close to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi who are facing conflicts within the party&nbsp;as some big names have joined other camps&nbsp;in recent years - such as Jyotiraditya Scindia.&nbsp;

RPN Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, Sachin Pilot were once considered significant faces in the youth congress. Recently, Prasada also quit.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Just a few days before India's much-awaited Assembly elections in India's northern state Uttar Pradesh (UP), a politician switched camps and caused a massive stir.

Just a few days before India's much-awaited Assembly elections in India's northern state Uttar Pradesh (UP), a politician switched camps and caused a massive stir. Once a star campaigner of India's opposition party Indian National Congress in UP, Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh recently joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - the ruling party in the state and the country. His move was a massive setback to Congress, which is looking forward to reviving itself in the state by winning more seats than previous elections. In Uttar Pradesh, Congress has remained out of power for three decades and only managed seven seats in the 403-member state Assembly in 2017. RPN Singh, who is a prominent figure in the politics of eastern UP, was named as a "star campaigner" by the Congress party. He resigned in a dramatic way as he posted his resignation to party chief Sonia Gandhi on Twitter. He wrote in the caption: "Today, at a time, we are celebrating the formation of our great Republic, I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind." RPN Singh, popularly known as 'Raja Saheb of Padrauna' (a scion of the royal family from Padrauna), became youth Congress President of Uttar Pradesh in 1997 and AICC Secretary in 2003. Singh was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009 as he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kushinagar constituency in the fifteenth Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014. The move might favour BJP to a large extent as the party is trying to compensate the vacuum of a 'kurmi' leader (OBC in eastern Uttar Pradesh) after Swami Prasad Mourya's recent exit from the party. Reports have also stated that the Yogi Adityanath government may field Singh from Padrauna Assembly constituency under Kushi Nagar district, the seat he represented thrice from 1996 to 2007. Singh had defeated Maurya from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. However, Singh lost both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Kushinagar. On the other hand, Maurya, who is the sitting MLA of the Vidhan Sabha recently joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) - a party gunning to win the upcoming polls in the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav. For the unversed, in the 2017 UP Assembly polls, Maurya had won the constituency for BJP. If he fights against RPN Singh from the Padrauna constituency, it will be a battle to watch out for. After resigning, Singh further said, "This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation-building under the visionary leadership & guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi, BJP president Shri @JPNadda ji & Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji." Also, it is important to note that Singh has definitely spiced up the battle in a small city in UP, but his switch might not impact the narratives pan-UP. But quitting the party is a big blow because he was considered close to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi who are facing conflicts within the party as some big names have joined other camps in recent years - such as Jyotiraditya Scindia. RPN Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, Sachin Pilot were once considered significant faces in the youth congress. Recently, Prasada also quit. (With inputs from agencies)

India's Assembly Election: How RPN Singh's move made small city in UP a battle to watch out for

Five Indian states are going to polls in February in what is seen as a bellwether elections. The elections are crucial for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. They are being watched keenly in India, almost like the midterm elections in the US. In the next two months, elections will also be held in Punjab & Uttarakhand as well as in Goa and the northeastern state of Manipur. VO: Elections would be held for 403 assembly seats in UP, 117 in Punjab, 70 in Uttarakhand, 60 in Manipur and 40 in Goa.

India's mammoth state elections: Why are they significant?

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra officially started her career in active politics in February 2019, just a few months before general elections. Congress president Rahul Gandhi introduced her as general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh. But the question is: Will she be a lucky charm for Congress in Uttar Pradesh?

Priyanka Gandhi is very famous in Amethi and Rae Bareli; she had campaigned during the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha polls and Congress had won both the seats.

The eastern part of Uttar Pradesh accounts for 42 Lok Sabha seats from the sub-regions of Avadh and Purvanchal. In 2009, Congress won 21 seats in Uttar Pradesh and 15 of them were from east UP. In 2014, the tally was reduced to just two. So, Priyanka has a tough job at hand, especially because the region also includes Gorakhpur and Varanasi - the strongholds of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, respectively.

The 2014 Lok Sabha polls saw Congress getting 10 per cent of vote share in east Uttar Pradesh and winning just two seats - it's the pocket borough of Amethi and Rae Bareli.

Even if Congress's gamble pays off and Priyanka factor works for the party, it is not going to give a boost to the number of seats it won in last Lok Sabha elections. The reason is coming together of Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). With the SP-BSP combine at play in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, going by the last vote share, the BJP and its alliance partners are likely to get 37 seats, the SP, BSP and RLD 41, and Congress will remain at two.

If Congress gets two per cent more vote share and the SP-BSP combine loses out its two per cent, it will not translate into a seat for the INC. In fact, the SP-BSP loss is likely to benefit the BJP which can get 44 seats.

If there is a gain of three per cent to Congress and loss of three per cent to SP-BSP alliance, the beneficiary again will be BJP. This will increase its seats from 37 to 46 seats, SP-BSP alliance will get 33, and INC two.

The only scenario which can work for Congress is if Priyanka is able to garner 10 per cent more votes for the party. The Congress will then get four seats, but after coming together of SP and BSP, an upward swing of 10 per cent in favour of Congress looks nearly impossible.

If we look at the past, Priyanka had promised her mother Sonia Gandhi during the 2012 assembly election a perfect 10 in Rae Bareli and Amethi (both have five assembly constituencies each). But the party couldn't even win a single seat in Amethi.

Adding to the pressure is the SP-BSP alliance. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, even though SP won just five seats and BSP failed to win a single seat, their combined vote share of 42.12 per cent was almost equal to 42.63 per cent of BJP which won 71 seats.

The political arithmetic, caste politics and alliance challenges make the going tough for Priyanka. The Congress is banking on her charisma to revive its fortunes in Uttar Pradesh. The poll bugle has been sounded, now it remains to be seen how she tackles the tough battle of eastern UP. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra officially started her career in active politics in February 2019, just a few months before general elections.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra officially started her career in active politics in February 2019, just a few months before general elections. Congress president Rahul Gandhi introduced her as general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh. But the question is: Will she be a lucky charm for Congress in Uttar Pradesh? Priyanka Gandhi is very famous in Amethi and Rae Bareli; she had campaigned during the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha polls and Congress had won both the seats. The eastern part of Uttar Pradesh accounts for 42 Lok Sabha seats from the sub-regions of Avadh and Purvanchal. In 2009, Congress won 21 seats in Uttar Pradesh and 15 of them were from east UP. In 2014, the tally was reduced to just two. So, Priyanka has a tough job at hand, especially because the region also includes Gorakhpur and Varanasi - the strongholds of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, respectively. The 2014 Lok Sabha polls saw Congress getting 10 per cent of vote share in east Uttar Pradesh and winning just two seats - it's the pocket borough of Amethi and Rae Bareli. Even if Congress's gamble pays off and Priyanka factor works for the party, it is not going to give a boost to the number of seats it won in last Lok Sabha elections. The reason is coming together of Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). With the SP-BSP combine at play in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, going by the last vote share, the BJP and its alliance partners are likely to get 37 seats, the SP, BSP and RLD 41, and Congress will remain at two. If Congress gets two per cent more vote share and the SP-BSP combine loses out its two per cent, it will not translate into a seat for the INC. In fact, the SP-BSP loss is likely to benefit the BJP which can get 44 seats. If there is a gain of three per cent to Congress and loss of three per cent to SP-BSP alliance, the beneficiary again will be BJP. This will increase its seats from 37 to 46 seats, SP-BSP alliance will get 33, and INC two. The only scenario which can work for Congress is if Priyanka is able to garner 10 per cent more votes for the party. The Congress will then get four seats, but after coming together of SP and BSP, an upward swing of 10 per cent in favour of Congress looks nearly impossible. If we look at the past, Priyanka had promised her mother Sonia Gandhi during the 2012 assembly election a perfect 10 in Rae Bareli and Amethi (both have five assembly constituencies each). But the party couldn't even win a single seat in Amethi. Adding to the pressure is the SP-BSP alliance. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, even though SP won just five seats and BSP failed to win a single seat, their combined vote share of 42.12 per cent was almost equal to 42.63 per cent of BJP which won 71 seats. The political arithmetic, caste politics and alliance challenges make the going tough for Priyanka. The Congress is banking on her charisma to revive its fortunes in Uttar Pradesh. The poll bugle has been sounded, now it remains to be seen how she tackles the tough battle of eastern UP. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Lok Sabha polls: Analysing the battle of east UP and the Priyanka factor

The Samajwadi Party Tuesday declared two more candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls.

Ramji Lal Suman will be the party's candidate from Hathras (reserved) seat and Rajendra S Bind will be the party's nominee from Mirzapur seat, according to an official release issued here.

Earlier, the SP had declared candidates on nine seats in the state, including party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav from Kannauj and MPs Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav from Badaun and Firozabad, respectively.

The other SP candidates are Kamlesh Katheria from Etawah, Bhailal Kol from Robertsganj and Shabbir Valmiki from Bahraich.&nbsp;

The Samajwadi Party Tuesday declared two more candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls. Ramji Lal Suman will be the party's candidate from Hathras (reserved) seat and Rajendra S Bind will be the party's nominee from Mirzapur seat, according to an official release issued here.

The Samajwadi Party Tuesday declared two more candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls. Ramji Lal Suman will be the party's candidate from Hathras (reserved) seat and Rajendra S Bind will be the party's nominee from Mirzapur seat, according to an official release issued here. Earlier, the SP had declared candidates on nine seats in the state, including party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav from Mainpuri, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav from Kannauj and MPs Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav from Badaun and Firozabad, respectively. The other SP candidates are Kamlesh Katheria from Etawah, Bhailal Kol from Robertsganj and Shabbir Valmiki from Bahraich.

Lok Sabha polls: Samajwadi Party declares two more candidates

&nbsp;

There cannot be one definitive reason for the Bharatiya Janata Party&rsquo;s sweeping win in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, though Prime Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s charisma is certainly the most dominant one. Party president Amit Shah&rsquo;s effective strategising and micro-handling of the election campaign &mdash; right from candidates&rsquo; selection to booth management &mdash; is the other major contributor. Then there are the self-goals that the BJP&rsquo;s rivals scored. The internecine quarrel in the Samajwadi Party, the ill-advised alliance it struck with the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party&rsquo;s taking for granted the Scheduled Caste votes and the Congress&rsquo;s lack-lustre image in the State played significant roles in the BJP&rsquo;s grand triumph.

If the party won the 2014 Lok Sabha on the resonance of expectations from it and the people&rsquo;s disgust with the Congress-led UPA regime&rsquo;s performance, it was the confidence among voters that those hopes would be realised and distrust of the two principal regional parties, which has fetched the BJP more than 300 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh House. But this is only the overarching message; the finer points are more interesting.

To begin with, the BJP is gaining rapidly at the expense of the Congress which dominated the State&rsquo;s political landscape before it went into disrepair from the early 1990s. Of the 10 Assembly seats in the Nehru-Gandhi stronghold of Amethi and Rae Bareli, the party has won six. In Rahul Gandhi&rsquo;s Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi, just one Assembly segment voted for the Congress-Samajwadi Party partnership, while the situation was marginally better in Rae Bareli where it got three seats. This is not any better than the 2012 performance, when the Congress managed just two of the 10 seats in the twin regions.

Although it contested this election in partnership with the formidable Samajwadi Party, and on more than 100 seats, the Congress&rsquo;s strike rate was abysmal. The party could not even touch the double-digit figure and ended up with a number lower than the regional Apna Dal &mdash; and just about the same as the lesser known Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party. Both these regional outfits are BJP allies. Overall, the Congress has managed just one-third of the seats that it had in the State in 2012. In other words, it dragged down its already struggling partner, the Samajwadi Party, to a new low.

The other interesting contributor to the BJP&rsquo;s monumental victory is the minority factor, and there is an irony to this. The Bahujan Samaj Party had given close to 100 tickets to Muslim candidates while the Samajwadi Party had over 50 of them. The idea was to lure the minority community through a consolidation of their votes. The consolidation did happen, but not in the manner these two parties had planned. In Saharanpur, Deoband and Muzaffarnagar &mdash; all Muslim-dominated constituencies &mdash; the majority voters coalesced in response to the minority challenge and went the BJP&rsquo;s way. In 2012, the BJP had not won a single seat in Muzaffarnagar district; this time it bagged all the six on offer. The majority consolidation was also evident in the Mau region, where don Mukhtar Ansari has a hold. Although he managed to win the Mau seat as a BSP candidate, his son and brother lost the other seats in the region.

The majority polarisation (particularly in the post-Muzaffarnagar riots backdrop) played out in other ways too. The BJP&rsquo;s wins in Jat-dominated regions is a good instance. The Jats, who comprise some two per cent of the State&rsquo;s total population but are located in large numbers in western Uttar Pradesh, had announced their determination to vote against the party for a host of reasons. But the minority factor ensured that virtually the whole lot of non-Jat voters, including the Other Backward Classes, pitched in for the BJP candidates. The Jat marginalisation was so complete that even in the Jat heartland of Baghpat, once the stronghold of Jat leader and former Prime Minister Charan Singh, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by his son Ajit Singh, the voters preferred the BJP. The RLD won just one of the three seats there. Given that 13 of the 15 Jat candidates of the BJP succeeded &mdash; despite considerable opposition from their community voters &mdash; the majority polarisation, including that of the non-Yadav Other Backward Classes and the upper castes (Brahmins and Kshatriyas voting together for the same party), cannot be downplayed.

What worked additionally for the BJP was the minority vote fragmentation alongside the majority vote consolidation. The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party&rsquo;s Muslim candidates clashed with one another in many constituencies, especially in Muslim-dominated ones. Minority votes got massively split, leaving both these parties stranded. For example, the BJP won all the eight seats in Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharth Nagar districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh, which have a substantial number of Muslim voters. Nearly similar was the case in Bahraich, which again has a sizeable Muslim presence &mdash; the BJP won all but one. it secured two seats in SP leader Azam Khan&rsquo;s Rampur district and registered wins in Amroha and Moradabad. It did well in Saharanpur too. Of the 140 constituencies where the Muslim population is 20 per cent or more, the BJP and its ally, the Apna Dal, won 109. There is no way the BJP could have managed these victories without a significant split in Muslim votes between the BSP and the SP-Congress combine. In hindsight, therefore, the BJP lost nothing by not giving tickets to a single Muslim candidate and its rivals lost out by going overboard in offering such representation.

One obstacle crossed, the BJP has two challenges ahead. The first and the most immediate one is the choice of a chief minister. There are many claimants and the party has to select one that has the ability to take everyone along and not cause fissures, both within the party and society. This should rule out the likes of Yogi Adityanath and Mahesh Sharma, although both played important roles in the party&rsquo;s massive win. State party president Keshav Prasad Maurya is a strong contender &mdash; being from the OBC is an added advantage &mdash; along with the &nbsp;dark horse and Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma. Both Maurya and Sharma are known to be in the good books of Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah. But so is Union Minister Manoj Sinha. And, if one talks of a Union Minister shifting from Delhi to Lucknow, there is also Rajnath Singh. The candidate must resonate with the Hindutva-minded voter, the OBCs and the Dalits (a good segment of which appears to have backed the BJP this time, as it did in 2014, and busted the BSP&rsquo;s attempt at recovering lost ground). It&rsquo;s a task that the Modi-Amit Shah duo will find almost as challenging as winning Uttar Pradesh.

The chief ministerial candidate must resonate with Hindutva-minded voter, the OBCs and the Dalits, with the ability to take everyone along

There cannot be one definitive reason for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s sweeping win in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, though Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma is certainly the most dominant one. Party president Amit Shah’s effective strategising and micro-handling of the election campaign — right from candidates’ selection to booth management — is the other major contributor. Then there are the self-goals that the BJP’s rivals scored. The internecine quarrel in the Samajwadi Party, the ill-advised alliance it struck with the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party’s taking for granted the Scheduled Caste votes and the Congress’s lack-lustre image in the State played significant roles in the BJP’s grand triumph. If the party won the 2014 Lok Sabha on the resonance of expectations from it and the people’s disgust with the Congress-led UPA regime’s performance, it was the confidence among voters that those hopes would be realised and distrust of the two principal regional parties, which has fetched the BJP more than 300 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh House. But this is only the overarching message; the finer points are more interesting. To begin with, the BJP is gaining rapidly at the expense of the Congress which dominated the State’s political landscape before it went into disrepair from the early 1990s. Of the 10 Assembly seats in the Nehru-Gandhi stronghold of Amethi and Rae Bareli, the party has won six. In Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi, just one Assembly segment voted for the Congress-Samajwadi Party partnership, while the situation was marginally better in Rae Bareli where it got three seats. This is not any better than the 2012 performance, when the Congress managed just two of the 10 seats in the twin regions. Although it contested this election in partnership with the formidable Samajwadi Party, and on more than 100 seats, the Congress’s strike rate was abysmal. The party could not even touch the double-digit figure and ended up with a number lower than the regional Apna Dal — and just about the same as the lesser known Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party. Both these regional outfits are BJP allies. Overall, the Congress has managed just one-third of the seats that it had in the State in 2012. In other words, it dragged down its already struggling partner, the Samajwadi Party, to a new low. The other interesting contributor to the BJP’s monumental victory is the minority factor, and there is an irony to this. The Bahujan Samaj Party had given close to 100 tickets to Muslim candidates while the Samajwadi Party had over 50 of them. The idea was to lure the minority community through a consolidation of their votes. The consolidation did happen, but not in the manner these two parties had planned. In Saharanpur, Deoband and Muzaffarnagar — all Muslim-dominated constituencies — the majority voters coalesced in response to the minority challenge and went the BJP’s way. In 2012, the BJP had not won a single seat in Muzaffarnagar district; this time it bagged all the six on offer. The majority consolidation was also evident in the Mau region, where don Mukhtar Ansari has a hold. Although he managed to win the Mau seat as a BSP candidate, his son and brother lost the other seats in the region. The majority polarisation (particularly in the post-Muzaffarnagar riots backdrop) played out in other ways too. The BJP’s wins in Jat-dominated regions is a good instance. The Jats, who comprise some two per cent of the State’s total population but are located in large numbers in western Uttar Pradesh, had announced their determination to vote against the party for a host of reasons. But the minority factor ensured that virtually the whole lot of non-Jat voters, including the Other Backward Classes, pitched in for the BJP candidates. The Jat marginalisation was so complete that even in the Jat heartland of Baghpat, once the stronghold of Jat leader and former Prime Minister Charan Singh, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by his son Ajit Singh, the voters preferred the BJP. The RLD won just one of the three seats there. Given that 13 of the 15 Jat candidates of the BJP succeeded — despite considerable opposition from their community voters — the majority polarisation, including that of the non-Yadav Other Backward Classes and the upper castes (Brahmins and Kshatriyas voting together for the same party), cannot be downplayed. What worked additionally for the BJP was the minority vote fragmentation alongside the majority vote consolidation. The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party’s Muslim candidates clashed with one another in many constituencies, especially in Muslim-dominated ones. Minority votes got massively split, leaving both these parties stranded. For example, the BJP won all the eight seats in Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharth Nagar districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh, which have a substantial number of Muslim voters. Nearly similar was the case in Bahraich, which again has a sizeable Muslim presence — the BJP won all but one. it secured two seats in SP leader Azam Khan’s Rampur district and registered wins in Amroha and Moradabad. It did well in Saharanpur too. Of the 140 constituencies where the Muslim population is 20 per cent or more, the BJP and its ally, the Apna Dal, won 109. There is no way the BJP could have managed these victories without a significant split in Muslim votes between the BSP and the SP-Congress combine. In hindsight, therefore, the BJP lost nothing by not giving tickets to a single Muslim candidate and its rivals lost out by going overboard in offering such representation. One obstacle crossed, the BJP has two challenges ahead. The first and the most immediate one is the choice of a chief minister. There are many claimants and the party has to select one that has the ability to take everyone along and not cause fissures, both within the party and society. This should rule out the likes of Yogi Adityanath and Mahesh Sharma, although both played important roles in the party’s massive win. State party president Keshav Prasad Maurya is a strong contender — being from the OBC is an added advantage — along with the dark horse and Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma. Both Maurya and Sharma are known to be in the good books of Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah. But so is Union Minister Manoj Sinha. And, if one talks of a Union Minister shifting from Delhi to Lucknow, there is also Rajnath Singh. The candidate must resonate with the Hindutva-minded voter, the OBCs and the Dalits (a good segment of which appears to have backed the BJP this time, as it did in 2014, and busted the BSP’s attempt at recovering lost ground). It’s a task that the Modi-Amit Shah duo will find almost as challenging as winning Uttar Pradesh.

Who will be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh?

&nbsp;

While many unknown factors can determine the outcome of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the most intriguing of them is the Muslim mood. Voting is done and the result will be known on March 11, but nobody can say for sure which way the minorities in the state have tilted. The only certainty is that they have not pressed the button on the Lotus symbol or, at least, not in sufficient numbers to be considered significant.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The Bharatiya Janata Party, like its opponents, knows it well but is not losing sleep over it. After all, it had not fielded a single Muslim candidate, even in constituencies which had a sizeable Muslim population. The Muslim vote does not count in its calculations. But it does for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and the Bahujan Samaj Party. It can make or break their prospects.

&nbsp;

The Muslims form 19 per cent of Uttar Pradesh&#39;s voters, with a majority located in urban regions. In western Uttar Pradesh, the number is significantly higher, with the proportion of Muslims being 26 per cent. If this is large enough to be the deciding factor, consider the following: In constituencies such as Rampur, Moradabad, Bijnor and Saharanpur, the minority voter is predominant. In few other parts of western Uttar Pradesh, it is even stronger, going up to 70 per cent in certain segments.

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<h5>The voter can be a Samajwadi Party supporter, for instance, but he would opt for the Elephant if he believes Mayawati&rsquo;s candidate is better placed in the constituency to neutralise the BJP</h5>
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Beyond the Muslim community&#39;s anti-BJP stance, it is difficult to predict how they will vote. Reading the trend is difficult due to several reasons. The first is that the minorities have been spoilt for choice. They can pick their lot from the Samajwadi Party-Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party and Ajit Singh&rsquo;s Rashtriya Lok Dal. In certain pockets, they even have an option to vote for Asaduddin Owaisi&rsquo;s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. But the choice comes with its own set of problems.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In many constituencies, there is more than one Muslim contestant and the voters have to, therefore, split their preference. The proportion of the split in votes will determine the fate of the candidates and their parties. The Bahujan Samaj Party fielded nearly 100 Muslim contestants while the Samajwadi Party gave tickets to almost half that number.

&nbsp;

The split in support happens due to tactical voting, among other things. Muslims would cast their votes in favour of a candidate who they feel has the best chance to defeat the BJP nominee. The voter can be a Samajwadi Party supporter, for instance, but he would opt for the Elephant if he believes Mayawati&rsquo;s candidate is better placed in the constituency to neutralise the BJP. The same calculation can work in the Samajwadi Party&rsquo;s favour in another constituency.

&nbsp;

The BJP hopes this will work for it as well, assuming two things: The first is that the split leaves each of its rivals with fewer minority votes. And the second is that the non-minority vote consolidates in its support as a result of the onslaught of the Muslim candidates, numbering more than one in a constituency. This is, particularly, true for constituencies where the Muslims are in considerable strength. The non-Muslims, in this case, believe they have to halt the march of the minorities.

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<h5>VP Singh lost steam and the grand anti-Congress experiment flopped. But it had unleashed new forces, one among them being the rise of regional outfits</h5>
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&nbsp;

Such complicated electoral calculations did not exist until the end of 1989, and there had been no need to seek refuge in number-crunching to understand the minority swing in the State. The Congress had been the dominant party since independence, and the Muslim voters in Uttar Pradesh, as in the rest of the country, did not have to look any beyond &mdash; or at least they had nothing to look beyond.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

True, there were the likes of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the Prajatantrik Party or even the Republican Party of India, among others but they had no real pan-India image. In any case, the Jana Sangh, with its overtly aggressive pro-Hindu ideology, was a no-go. The disruption came in 1989 with VP Singh rebelling.&nbsp; Singh quit the Congress, formed Jan Morcha (which later metamorphosed into Janata Dal) and contested against the Congress. Suddenly, the Muslim voters swayed, like many in the country,&nbsp;by VP Singh&rsquo;s anti-corruption drive, had a real choice. And it exercised the new-found option.

&nbsp;

That became the turning point. The Janata Dal later splintered in many directions, VP Singh lost steam and the grand anti-Congress experiment flopped. But it had unleashed new forces, one among them being the rise of regional outfits, such as the Samajwadi Party. Established by Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1992, it soon captured the minority community&rsquo;s imagination with its robust opposition to the BJP.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

After the Janata Dal failure, the Congress party&#39;s hopes of regaining Muslim support were effectively dashed to the ground with the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. The community held the Congress (with its government at the Centre) squarely responsible for the debacle and never returned to the party&rsquo;s fold.

&nbsp;

But the Muslim voter wasn&rsquo;t always happy with the Samajwadi Party. This antipathy is there though the community acknowledges Mulayam Singh Yadav&rsquo;s affinity to them, particularly, his &lsquo;courage&rsquo; in ordering fire on kar sevaks in October 1990. The incident had led to 16 deaths. Mulayam recently expressed &lsquo;regret&rsquo; over the incident but maintained that the directive was necessary &ldquo;to keep the Muslim faith in this country intact&rdquo;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

With enough political alternatives to choose from, many of the community members turned to Mayawati&rsquo;s Bahujan Samaj Party when in distress. In 2007, the minorities, as the others, were disgusted with growing hooliganism in the Samajwadi party regime. Mayawati sensed the mood and fielded some 30 candidates in the Assembly election. The move paid a rich dividend; she romped home with the combined votes of the Dalit and the Muslims.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

But this liking for Mayawati would not last long; the minorities promptly returned to the Samajwadi Party five years later. This time they were upset with rampant corruption during Mayawati&rsquo;s tenure and propelled by the fear that the BJP could make a comeback.

&nbsp;

One key reason why it has become so difficult to understand the mood of the minorities in this election is that there is no unifying force to pick hints from; not even from their hostility to the BJP. There was a time when prominent religious leaders, the clerics, took sides and the community by and large respected that position &mdash; which got reflected in their voting preference.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The Shahi Imam of Delhi&rsquo;s Jama Masjid dabbled openly in politics, and even national leaders paid obeisance to him. Today, he is a spent force and is openly challenged by prominent community leaders. Mohammed Azam Khan of the Samajwadi Party, for example, holds the Shahi Imam in contempt. Other prominent Uttar Pradesh-based clerics from both the Sunni and the Shia sects do have their biases and they have made that known, but they do not have the capacity to influence voter behaviour. The qazi&rsquo;s call is today rarely heeded in political matters in the country&rsquo;s politically most significant State.

The Muslim vote does not count in BJP's calculations. But it does for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and the Bahujan Samaj Party

While many unknown factors can determine the outcome of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the most intriguing of them is the Muslim mood. Voting is done and the result will be known on March 11, but nobody can say for sure which way the minorities in the state have tilted. The only certainty is that they have not pressed the button on the Lotus symbol or, at least, not in sufficient numbers to be considered significant. The Bharatiya Janata Party, like its opponents, knows it well but is not losing sleep over it. After all, it had not fielded a single Muslim candidate, even in constituencies which had a sizeable Muslim population. The Muslim vote does not count in its calculations. But it does for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and the Bahujan Samaj Party. It can make or break their prospects. The Muslims form 19 per cent of Uttar Pradesh's voters, with a majority located in urban regions. In western Uttar Pradesh, the number is significantly higher, with the proportion of Muslims being 26 per cent. If this is large enough to be the deciding factor, consider the following: In constituencies such as Rampur, Moradabad, Bijnor and Saharanpur, the minority voter is predominant. In few other parts of western Uttar Pradesh, it is even stronger, going up to 70 per cent in certain segments. The voter can be a Samajwadi Party supporter, for instance, but he would opt for the Elephant if he believes Mayawati’s candidate is better placed in the constituency to neutralise the BJP × Beyond the Muslim community's anti-BJP stance, it is difficult to predict how they will vote. Reading the trend is difficult due to several reasons. The first is that the minorities have been spoilt for choice. They can pick their lot from the Samajwadi Party-Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal. In certain pockets, they even have an option to vote for Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. But the choice comes with its own set of problems. In many constituencies, there is more than one Muslim contestant and the voters have to, therefore, split their preference. The proportion of the split in votes will determine the fate of the candidates and their parties. The Bahujan Samaj Party fielded nearly 100 Muslim contestants while the Samajwadi Party gave tickets to almost half that number. The split in support happens due to tactical voting, among other things. Muslims would cast their votes in favour of a candidate who they feel has the best chance to defeat the BJP nominee. The voter can be a Samajwadi Party supporter, for instance, but he would opt for the Elephant if he believes Mayawati’s candidate is better placed in the constituency to neutralise the BJP. The same calculation can work in the Samajwadi Party’s favour in another constituency. The BJP hopes this will work for it as well, assuming two things: The first is that the split leaves each of its rivals with fewer minority votes. And the second is that the non-minority vote consolidates in its support as a result of the onslaught of the Muslim candidates, numbering more than one in a constituency. This is, particularly, true for constituencies where the Muslims are in considerable strength. The non-Muslims, in this case, believe they have to halt the march of the minorities. VP Singh lost steam and the grand anti-Congress experiment flopped. But it had unleashed new forces, one among them being the rise of regional outfits × Such complicated electoral calculations did not exist until the end of 1989, and there had been no need to seek refuge in number-crunching to understand the minority swing in the State. The Congress had been the dominant party since independence, and the Muslim voters in Uttar Pradesh, as in the rest of the country, did not have to look any beyond — or at least they had nothing to look beyond. True, there were the likes of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the Prajatantrik Party or even the Republican Party of India, among others but they had no real pan-India image. In any case, the Jana Sangh, with its overtly aggressive pro-Hindu ideology, was a no-go. The disruption came in 1989 with VP Singh rebelling. Singh quit the Congress, formed Jan Morcha (which later metamorphosed into Janata Dal) and contested against the Congress. Suddenly, the Muslim voters swayed, like many in the country, by VP Singh’s anti-corruption drive, had a real choice. And it exercised the new-found option. That became the turning point. The Janata Dal later splintered in many directions, VP Singh lost steam and the grand anti-Congress experiment flopped. But it had unleashed new forces, one among them being the rise of regional outfits, such as the Samajwadi Party. Established by Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1992, it soon captured the minority community’s imagination with its robust opposition to the BJP. After the Janata Dal failure, the Congress party's hopes of regaining Muslim support were effectively dashed to the ground with the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. The community held the Congress (with its government at the Centre) squarely responsible for the debacle and never returned to the party’s fold. But the Muslim voter wasn’t always happy with the Samajwadi Party. This antipathy is there though the community acknowledges Mulayam Singh Yadav’s affinity to them, particularly, his ‘courage’ in ordering fire on kar sevaks in October 1990. The incident had led to 16 deaths. Mulayam recently expressed ‘regret’ over the incident but maintained that the directive was necessary “to keep the Muslim faith in this country intact”. With enough political alternatives to choose from, many of the community members turned to Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party when in distress. In 2007, the minorities, as the others, were disgusted with growing hooliganism in the Samajwadi party regime. Mayawati sensed the mood and fielded some 30 candidates in the Assembly election. The move paid a rich dividend; she romped home with the combined votes of the Dalit and the Muslims. But this liking for Mayawati would not last long; the minorities promptly returned to the Samajwadi Party five years later. This time they were upset with rampant corruption during Mayawati’s tenure and propelled by the fear that the BJP could make a comeback. One key reason why it has become so difficult to understand the mood of the minorities in this election is that there is no unifying force to pick hints from; not even from their hostility to the BJP. There was a time when prominent religious leaders, the clerics, took sides and the community by and large respected that position — which got reflected in their voting preference. The Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid dabbled openly in politics, and even national leaders paid obeisance to him. Today, he is a spent force and is openly challenged by prominent community leaders. Mohammed Azam Khan of the Samajwadi Party, for example, holds the Shahi Imam in contempt. Other prominent Uttar Pradesh-based clerics from both the Sunni and the Shia sects do have their biases and they have made that known, but they do not have the capacity to influence voter behaviour. The qazi’s call is today rarely heeded in political matters in the country’s politically most significant State.

Uttar Pradesh election: Whom will the Muslim community vote for?

&nbsp;

Given its spectacular performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was best placed to win the 2017 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. Winning 71 of 80 seats on a vote share of 42 per cent provided it with a margin of invincibility to withstand a large negative vote swing. But the party&rsquo;s changing campaign strategy betrays a lack of confidence in the outcome of the elections.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The campaign which started on the high note of development has begun to traverse the familiar ground of Hindu consolidation. This is very similar to 2014 when development-oriented politics made way for majoritarianism. The BJP knows that ultimately its success depends on Hindu unity; consequently, its leaders, operatives, and the members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) resolutely focused on religious polarisation.

&nbsp;

Known for its abysmal record in human development, one would think the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections would be all about progress and change. But no, this is not the case. The leading campaign issue is not the prospect of development but the politics around graveyards. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking up the case of discrimination against cremation grounds in comparison to graveyards. The political discourse has exposed BJP&rsquo;s stress on polarisation as a strategy of mobilisation in this complex election.

&nbsp;

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<h5>The last few phases of the elections have, therefore, seen a sharp contest between ideologies of pluralism-inclusion on the one side and assimilation-exclusion on the other</h5>
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&nbsp;

The BJP seeks to unite Hindu votes in its favour while dividing Muslim votes between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) who are vying for the support of Muslims. Implicit in this political belief is the apprehension that Muslims would vote for the SP-Congress combine and not for the BSP.

&nbsp;

There are two concerted elements in BJP&#39;s majoritarian campaign this year. The two elements include divisive rhetoric on communal issues and debasing the development discourse. The strategy works directly by raising controversial issues, such as the triple talaq, Hindu migration from Kairana and other western UP towns, illegal abattoirs etc to appeal to the traditional middle-class voters in the state.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

An election that started out as a contest about governance and development has changed since polarisation gradually entered the picture. The last few phases of the elections have, therefore, seen a sharp contest between ideologies of pluralism-inclusion on the one side and assimilation-exclusion on the other. Changing the terms of public discourse involved an unmistakable communalisation of development politics and, thereby, pulling people to its side.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The ostensible provocation for this shift was that both the BSP and the SP-Congress alliance have been vigorously appealing to the minorities for votes to keep the BJP at bay. Critics blame the BSP for starting this by giving 97 assembly tickets to Muslims. However, the dispute over who is to blame for the acceleration of polarisation seldom takes into account that the BJP has not given a single ticket to a Muslim.

&nbsp;

In UP, even as the BJP was propagating its &lsquo;vikas&rsquo; or development plans, it has lost no opportunity to communalise development politics.&nbsp; The party has been working actively on dividing communities along religious lines at the ground level since the violence in Muzaffarnagar in 2013; Modi&rsquo;s speech at Fatehpur on February 19, 2017, was basically an attempt to give it a further push and this was immediately taken forward by the party president Amit Shah.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Amit Shah said, &quot;If BJP is not voted to power, people&rsquo;s money would be spent on building karbala aur kabristan. When BJP introduces programmes like Startup India, Make in India and so on, they are for everyone, but when the UP government starts a scholarship scheme, it is only for Muslim girls.&quot; Incidentally, Shah is referring here to the Kanya Vidya Dhan Yojana, under which the UP government provides assistance of Rs 30,000 to each girl student who has passed the 12th board examinations with distinction. Many Hindus have complained that Muslims are the only ones to benefit from this scheme; a claim which is yet to be verified. Moreover, BJP activists continue to allege leniency in the grading of exams at schools situated in Muslim neighborhoods, and that such leniency is responsible for more Muslim girls benefiting from this scheme.

&nbsp;

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<h5>The big question is whether communal polarisation at the grass root level electorally benefits the BJP, and what political impact will this electoral strategy have on India&rsquo;s democracy</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

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&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Clearly, post-truth is having a field day in UP, and not just in the United States. A blithe disregard for facts has characterised the propaganda campaign of the BJP in the UP election. This type of talk makes it clear that mobilisation gained through polarisation has become the principal instrument of the election campaign.

&nbsp;

The BJP has regularly attacked the SP government for appeasement of one community in matters as diverse as power supply and laptop distribution under the government schemes. Accusing its rivals of Muslim appeasement has been the staple of BJP politics. This has happened even after official data and academic research show Muslims to be one of India&rsquo;s most disadvantaged communities, and nowhere more so than in UP. Any attempt to redress the imbalance is damned as appeasement.

&nbsp;

Finally, one thing is clear: the BJP is fighting the 2017 election with an unconcealed anti-Muslim propaganda. On the face of it, it seems that incendiary majoritarian nationalism and the language of polarisation has had an impact on the thought processes of a large number of people. Unfortunately, the acerbic discourse has split Uttar Pradesh, once defined by cultural syncretism, along Hindu-Muslim lines.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Everywhere, the BJP campaign targets Muslims and how they were not part of the (Hindu) nationalist narrative. There are many who are inclined to buy into BJP&rsquo;s charges of minority appeasement because prejudice against minorities has crept into everyday life.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The big question is whether communal polarisation at the grass root level electorally benefits the BJP, and what political impact will this electoral strategy have on India&rsquo;s democracy.

The leading campaign issue in the Uttar Pradesh election is not the prospect of development but the politics around graveyards

Given its spectacular performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was best placed to win the 2017 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. Winning 71 of 80 seats on a vote share of 42 per cent provided it with a margin of invincibility to withstand a large negative vote swing. But the party’s changing campaign strategy betrays a lack of confidence in the outcome of the elections. The campaign which started on the high note of development has begun to traverse the familiar ground of Hindu consolidation. This is very similar to 2014 when development-oriented politics made way for majoritarianism. The BJP knows that ultimately its success depends on Hindu unity; consequently, its leaders, operatives, and the members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) resolutely focused on religious polarisation. Known for its abysmal record in human development, one would think the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections would be all about progress and change. But no, this is not the case. The leading campaign issue is not the prospect of development but the politics around graveyards. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking up the case of discrimination against cremation grounds in comparison to graveyards. The political discourse has exposed BJP’s stress on polarisation as a strategy of mobilisation in this complex election. The last few phases of the elections have, therefore, seen a sharp contest between ideologies of pluralism-inclusion on the one side and assimilation-exclusion on the other × The BJP seeks to unite Hindu votes in its favour while dividing Muslim votes between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) who are vying for the support of Muslims. Implicit in this political belief is the apprehension that Muslims would vote for the SP-Congress combine and not for the BSP. There are two concerted elements in BJP's majoritarian campaign this year. The two elements include divisive rhetoric on communal issues and debasing the development discourse. The strategy works directly by raising controversial issues, such as the triple talaq, Hindu migration from Kairana and other western UP towns, illegal abattoirs etc to appeal to the traditional middle-class voters in the state. An election that started out as a contest about governance and development has changed since polarisation gradually entered the picture. The last few phases of the elections have, therefore, seen a sharp contest between ideologies of pluralism-inclusion on the one side and assimilation-exclusion on the other. Changing the terms of public discourse involved an unmistakable communalisation of development politics and, thereby, pulling people to its side. The ostensible provocation for this shift was that both the BSP and the SP-Congress alliance have been vigorously appealing to the minorities for votes to keep the BJP at bay. Critics blame the BSP for starting this by giving 97 assembly tickets to Muslims. However, the dispute over who is to blame for the acceleration of polarisation seldom takes into account that the BJP has not given a single ticket to a Muslim. In UP, even as the BJP was propagating its ‘vikas’ or development plans, it has lost no opportunity to communalise development politics. The party has been working actively on dividing communities along religious lines at the ground level since the violence in Muzaffarnagar in 2013; Modi’s speech at Fatehpur on February 19, 2017, was basically an attempt to give it a further push and this was immediately taken forward by the party president Amit Shah. Amit Shah said, "If BJP is not voted to power, people’s money would be spent on building karbala aur kabristan. When BJP introduces programmes like Startup India, Make in India and so on, they are for everyone, but when the UP government starts a scholarship scheme, it is only for Muslim girls." Incidentally, Shah is referring here to the Kanya Vidya Dhan Yojana, under which the UP government provides assistance of Rs 30,000 to each girl student who has passed the 12th board examinations with distinction. Many Hindus have complained that Muslims are the only ones to benefit from this scheme; a claim which is yet to be verified. Moreover, BJP activists continue to allege leniency in the grading of exams at schools situated in Muslim neighborhoods, and that such leniency is responsible for more Muslim girls benefiting from this scheme. The big question is whether communal polarisation at the grass root level electorally benefits the BJP, and what political impact will this electoral strategy have on India’s democracy × Clearly, post-truth is having a field day in UP, and not just in the United States. A blithe disregard for facts has characterised the propaganda campaign of the BJP in the UP election. This type of talk makes it clear that mobilisation gained through polarisation has become the principal instrument of the election campaign. The BJP has regularly attacked the SP government for appeasement of one community in matters as diverse as power supply and laptop distribution under the government schemes. Accusing its rivals of Muslim appeasement has been the staple of BJP politics. This has happened even after official data and academic research show Muslims to be one of India’s most disadvantaged communities, and nowhere more so than in UP. Any attempt to redress the imbalance is damned as appeasement. Finally, one thing is clear: the BJP is fighting the 2017 election with an unconcealed anti-Muslim propaganda. On the face of it, it seems that incendiary majoritarian nationalism and the language of polarisation has had an impact on the thought processes of a large number of people. Unfortunately, the acerbic discourse has split Uttar Pradesh, once defined by cultural syncretism, along Hindu-Muslim lines. Everywhere, the BJP campaign targets Muslims and how they were not part of the (Hindu) nationalist narrative. There are many who are inclined to buy into BJP’s charges of minority appeasement because prejudice against minorities has crept into everyday life. The big question is whether communal polarisation at the grass root level electorally benefits the BJP, and what political impact will this electoral strategy have on India’s democracy.

Majoritarianism drives the BJP campaign in Uttar Pradesh elections

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad speaks with WION&#39;s Kartikeya Sharma on a range of issues concerning the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. He said that Priyanka Gandhi is actively managing the elections in UP from Delhi&nbsp;and was in charge of all political decisions. He also claimed that the Prime Minister&#39;s three-day campaign in Varanasi is a sign of weakness and not strength as Prime Ministers do not devote so much time to their constituencies for election campaigning.

Q: How is the election going for the Congress Party?

A: I don&rsquo;t think we would have fought a better election than this. We have alliances in many states but the way alliance has worked in Uttar Pradesh has been different. I&rsquo;m very satisfied.

Q: In 2007 and 2012, Rahul Gandhi fought elections alone. How did the Congress reach the conclusion that it should fight the election in an alliance?

A: Even this time we wanted to fight elections alone. That is why we organized lot of kisan yatras throughout the state. We had also decided to review the situation in October whether we would be able to fight a good election or not. Simultaneously, developments took place in SP which created uncertainty for them. Then we too at that point of time were uncertain. We realized that we shouldn&rsquo;t repeat the mistake of Lok Sabha elections. BJP got 31&nbsp;per cent of votes and managed to get 282 seats (in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014) because the opposition vote got fragmented.&nbsp;So, we didn&#39;t want such a situation this time. It could be any other party this time who could have come to power with lesser vote share because of fragmentation of the opposition vote.&nbsp;We decided to create an alliance so that the vote doesn&rsquo;t divide. We didn&rsquo;t want this election to become a matter of false prestige. We didn&rsquo;t want to take chance this time around. May be this was the reason for SP also.

Q: But alliance has problems. Gandhi bastion is witnessing friendly fights. Priyanka Gandhi couldn&rsquo;t go because of it?

A: Priyanka did not go (for campaigning) not because of the friendly fights. She didn&rsquo;t because she was in a different role. There are two areas of campaign. One is physical campaign and another is management. Priyanka was in the management of the campaign like an in charge of ATC. Someone senior was required to look into the issue management of the elections and we decided that this part should be played by Priyanka Gandhi. If she wouldn&rsquo;t have done this job, then it would have fallen on any other general secretary. Priyanka Gandhi did a fabulous job. No one else could have done it better than her.

Q: Are you telling me that Priyanka Gandhi is in charge of the political air traffic control of the Congress Party?

A: She was involved from the beginning when it came to Uttar Pradesh. The decision to contest particular seat or to give it up were decided by her. It took us a month to firm up the alliance. We used Priyanka fully in Uttar Pradesh.

Q: Many would say that senior leaders did the work and gave all the credit to Priyanka?

A: I don&rsquo;t share credit unnecessarily. I don&rsquo;t give undue credit to anyone. Priyanka Gandhi really did a fabulous job. I don&rsquo;t think I would have been able to do the job like this or devote so much time.

Q: Goal posts in elections changed midway when Prime Minister spoke about &quot;kabristan&quot; and &quot;shamshan&quot;. But Congress didn&rsquo;t approach the Election Commission. Have you changed the goal posts? Like Gujarat?

A: Our agenda remains the same. It is focused on agriculture, employment and health. It is the PM who moved away from the developmental agenda. It is very disappointing. In 1990s, rath yatra was started. I don&rsquo;t want to get into it so that we get diverted from the agenda once again. The issue is that BJP felt that it was not able to match the agenda of the alliance. Akhilesh has done good job and they changed horses midstream and that is why they will lose the elections. I don&rsquo;t think statements of the Prime Minister were appreciated by the majority community. BJP wanted us to make this into an issue and that is why we refrained from it. We don&rsquo;t want to mix religion with politics.

Q: There are changes even in Rahul Gandhi. Before 2014 elections one couldn&rsquo;t find Rahul Gandhi going to temples religiously and regularly. Now he does. Why?

A: We have no issues with people going to temples or church. We never made any issue of PM going to temples. We have no issue with people visiting religious spaces but we have issue with people talking about things like kabristan and shamshan.

Q: Who is your opponent? BSP or BJP?

A: Our fight is against parties who have no political principles. Both of them are fighting each other for 2nd and 3rd position.

Q: Aren&rsquo;t you concerned about BSP? BSP has given large number of tickets to the minority community?

A: It is not an issue for us. We aren&rsquo;t BJP. We need both majority and minority. We want the votes of all the castes be it backward or forward. We want them all.

Q: Is demonetisation an issue in UP? It seems that demonetisation didn&rsquo;t work as an issue in municipal polls in Maharashtra?

A: Demonetisation was an issue. Whether people voted on the issue on it or not is a different thing. People got affected. This fact cannot be denied. Demonetisation affected lot of business. I have interacted with people in UP and I felt that demonetisation is a living issue.

Q: Biggest leader of SP, Mulayum Singh Yadav didn&rsquo;t campaign for the alliance? He didn&rsquo;t endorse it politically?

A: He is supporting us and his silence speaks for it.

Q: After 1998, Sonia Gandhi has not campaigned in Uttar Pradesh. Why?

A: She didn&rsquo;t campaign in any of the states for that matter. This time Rahul Gandhi aggressively campaigned.

Q: OK, if Priyanka Gandhi was in charge of the so called political ATC, then what was Rahul Gandhi doing?

A: He did the campaign for us.

Q:&nbsp;You decided the distribution?

A: He is my boss. He is the Vice President. He is above me and Priyanka Gandhi. All happened under his supervision. Alliance and distribution of the work. Both.

Q: This is the last phase. Does it worry you that there is an upsurge of BJP in the rural areas?

A: Our only worry is that they continue to polarise the elections. They are doing the same work which they used to do in the opposition.

Q: Are you worried that no one gets majority in UP. Even PM spoke of it?

A: PM is devoting three days to his constituency. He did a programme without EC&rsquo;s&nbsp;permission in the district. He did the roadshow. Prime Ministers never give so much time to their constituencies for election campaigning. There are 40 ministers in this area. Doesn&rsquo;t it show that we are coming to power.

Q: But it could also mean that BJP wants to fight for every seat?

A: This is a sign of weakness and not strength.

(WION)&nbsp;

Senior Congress leader, Azad, said Congress allied with the Samajwadi Party so that votes don't get divided

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad speaks with WION's Kartikeya Sharma on a range of issues concerning the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. He said that Priyanka Gandhi is actively managing the elections in UP from Delhi and was in charge of all political decisions. He also claimed that the Prime Minister's three-day campaign in Varanasi is a sign of weakness and not strength as Prime Ministers do not devote so much time to their constituencies for election campaigning. Q: How is the election going for the Congress Party? A: I don’t think we would have fought a better election than this. We have alliances in many states but the way alliance has worked in Uttar Pradesh has been different. I’m very satisfied. Q: In 2007 and 2012, Rahul Gandhi fought elections alone. How did the Congress reach the conclusion that it should fight the election in an alliance? A: Even this time we wanted to fight elections alone. That is why we organized lot of kisan yatras throughout the state. We had also decided to review the situation in October whether we would be able to fight a good election or not. Simultaneously, developments took place in SP which created uncertainty for them. Then we too at that point of time were uncertain. We realized that we shouldn’t repeat the mistake of Lok Sabha elections. BJP got 31 per cent of votes and managed to get 282 seats (in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014) because the opposition vote got fragmented. So, we didn't want such a situation this time. It could be any other party this time who could have come to power with lesser vote share because of fragmentation of the opposition vote. We decided to create an alliance so that the vote doesn’t divide. We didn’t want this election to become a matter of false prestige. We didn’t want to take chance this time around. May be this was the reason for SP also. Q: But alliance has problems. Gandhi bastion is witnessing friendly fights. Priyanka Gandhi couldn’t go because of it? A: Priyanka did not go (for campaigning) not because of the friendly fights. She didn’t because she was in a different role. There are two areas of campaign. One is physical campaign and another is management. Priyanka was in the management of the campaign like an in charge of ATC. Someone senior was required to look into the issue management of the elections and we decided that this part should be played by Priyanka Gandhi. If she wouldn’t have done this job, then it would have fallen on any other general secretary. Priyanka Gandhi did a fabulous job. No one else could have done it better than her. Q: Are you telling me that Priyanka Gandhi is in charge of the political air traffic control of the Congress Party? A: She was involved from the beginning when it came to Uttar Pradesh. The decision to contest particular seat or to give it up were decided by her. It took us a month to firm up the alliance. We used Priyanka fully in Uttar Pradesh. Q: Many would say that senior leaders did the work and gave all the credit to Priyanka? A: I don’t share credit unnecessarily. I don’t give undue credit to anyone. Priyanka Gandhi really did a fabulous job. I don’t think I would have been able to do the job like this or devote so much time. Q: Goal posts in elections changed midway when Prime Minister spoke about "kabristan" and "shamshan". But Congress didn’t approach the Election Commission. Have you changed the goal posts? Like Gujarat? A: Our agenda remains the same. It is focused on agriculture, employment and health. It is the PM who moved away from the developmental agenda. It is very disappointing. In 1990s, rath yatra was started. I don’t want to get into it so that we get diverted from the agenda once again. The issue is that BJP felt that it was not able to match the agenda of the alliance. Akhilesh has done good job and they changed horses midstream and that is why they will lose the elections. I don’t think statements of the Prime Minister were appreciated by the majority community. BJP wanted us to make this into an issue and that is why we refrained from it. We don’t want to mix religion with politics. Q: There are changes even in Rahul Gandhi. Before 2014 elections one couldn’t find Rahul Gandhi going to temples religiously and regularly. Now he does. Why? A: We have no issues with people going to temples or church. We never made any issue of PM going to temples. We have no issue with people visiting religious spaces but we have issue with people talking about things like kabristan and shamshan. Q: Who is your opponent? BSP or BJP? A: Our fight is against parties who have no political principles. Both of them are fighting each other for 2nd and 3rd position. Q: Aren’t you concerned about BSP? BSP has given large number of tickets to the minority community? A: It is not an issue for us. We aren’t BJP. We need both majority and minority. We want the votes of all the castes be it backward or forward. We want them all. Q: Is demonetisation an issue in UP? It seems that demonetisation didn’t work as an issue in municipal polls in Maharashtra? A: Demonetisation was an issue. Whether people voted on the issue on it or not is a different thing. People got affected. This fact cannot be denied. Demonetisation affected lot of business. I have interacted with people in UP and I felt that demonetisation is a living issue. Q: Biggest leader of SP, Mulayum Singh Yadav didn’t campaign for the alliance? He didn’t endorse it politically? A: He is supporting us and his silence speaks for it. Q: After 1998, Sonia Gandhi has not campaigned in Uttar Pradesh. Why? A: She didn’t campaign in any of the states for that matter. This time Rahul Gandhi aggressively campaigned. Q: OK, if Priyanka Gandhi was in charge of the so called political ATC, then what was Rahul Gandhi doing? A: He did the campaign for us. Q: You decided the distribution? A: He is my boss. He is the Vice President. He is above me and Priyanka Gandhi. All happened under his supervision. Alliance and distribution of the work. Both. Q: This is the last phase. Does it worry you that there is an upsurge of BJP in the rural areas? A: Our only worry is that they continue to polarise the elections. They are doing the same work which they used to do in the opposition. Q: Are you worried that no one gets majority in UP. Even PM spoke of it? A: PM is devoting three days to his constituency. He did a programme without EC’s permission in the district. He did the roadshow. Prime Ministers never give so much time to their constituencies for election campaigning. There are 40 ministers in this area. Doesn’t it show that we are coming to power. Q: But it could also mean that BJP wants to fight for every seat? A: This is a sign of weakness and not strength. (WION)

WION Exclusive: Priyanka Gandhi managing elections from Delhi, says Ghulam Nabi Azad

&nbsp;

It is commonly said that the road to New Delhi passes through Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. UP is not just any other state. It is the largest with a population of over 200 million, and is politically an extremely important state but also one of the most socio-economically backward in India.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

With its 80 Members of Parliament (MP) and 403 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA), UP has been the nerve centre of Indian politics. In the 2014 national election, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the state, winning 71 of these seats (with coalition partner Apna Dal winning two more). Without a large number of seats from UP, the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would not have had the majority to form government at the Centre.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The importance of UP for national politics can never be overstated. The results of a bitterly fought and excessively long (7-phase) 2017 assembly election will have a crucial bearing on the template of the 2019 elections.

&nbsp;

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<h5>Hindu nationalism and caste-based parties gave momentum to the process of identity politics, occupying spaces vacated by the once-dominant Congress party</h5>
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<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Hindu nationalism and caste-based parties gave momentum to the process of identity politics, occupying spaces vacated by the once-dominant Congress party" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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&nbsp;

Over the years, UP has seen remarkable changes in its politics both within and across ruling parties and coalitions. The impetus for change originated in the political realignments that began to take place in the late 1980s. The emergence of Hindu nationalism and caste-based parties gave momentum to the process of identity politics, occupying spaces vacated by the once-dominant Congress party.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The tropes of Mandal Commission controversy and the Babri Masjid issue dominated the political narrative in the 1990s. Later, as Dalit mobilisation reached a high tempo, it shaped electoral outcomes in this crucial state. The churning in UP was the most stunning expression of a new political paradigm, with caste-based parties and factions disrupting traditional arrangements and drawing hitherto marginalised forces into play. Two political parties, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) symbolised this process. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

The SP and BSP have governed the state for most of the past two decades. These parties and the governments they dominate have empowered the lower castes. Both parties have raised the standing and representation of the Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Consequently, increasing number of disadvantaged groups are part of the ruling elite now, with an access to state resources. Though a lot still needs to be done, economic and educational development has weakened caste barriers in Uttar Pradesh.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

But castes are not classes. Constructed around caste, political representation and the activism surrounding it inevitably promotes symbolic rather than substantive changes. The politics is crucially limited by bitter competition for power and fights over resources. It is also marred by the absence of a common agenda on structural changes which could have facilitated the redistribution of resources.

&nbsp;

If we compare the Samajwadi party with parties in South India, it is clear the latter draws on a much longer history of social mobilisation and this has defined substantive social welfare agenda in the southern states. In UP, by contrast, political empowerment was not building on a long record of social mobilisation.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In fact, OBC politics in Uttar Pradesh came into its own during the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations that gave the members of backward classes a political heft. from the outset, it was principally a top-down process of gaining power. No attention was paid to the promotion of broader social policies with the aim to level the playing field for everyone. In Uttar Pradesh, OBC and Dalit politics was all about transforming the pre-existing balance of social powers, and not addressing socio-economic inequalities. Clearly, poverty is not seen as a problem on par with the problem of social inequality. Consequently, the state has lagged behind in terms of economic and social development in comparison to other Indian states.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<h5>The two overarching themes of this election are the growing discontent with under-development and the wider aspiration for development.</h5>
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<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The two overarching themes of this election are the growing discontent with under-development and the wider aspiration for development." target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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&nbsp;

The 2017 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh marks a transition from identity politics to the politics of development. The two overarching themes of this election are the growing discontent with under-development and the wider aspiration for development. Although the overall record of the past five years of the Samajwadi party led government is not encouraging, there had been a spurt in development activities in the last two years. In the event, the election is being contested on the promise of development.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The current Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav&rsquo;s slogan &lsquo;Kaam Bolta Hai&rsquo; (the work speaks for itself) signals the attempt at building a counter-narrative around economic development. Akhilesh has gone to the polls showcasing new expressways, the Lucknow metro project, distributing laptops to students and bicycles to girls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s mordant criticism of the UP chief minister&rsquo;s development work and his pungent disparagement of the claims all other parties underscore the sharp divide over which party can promote development better than others.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Meanwhile, BJP claims &lsquo;it will end development&rsquo;s 14-year exile in UP&rsquo;.

&nbsp;

As the 2017 election progressed from western to eastern UP,&nbsp; the focus of political campaigning shifted from development to the religion and caste arithmetic of the past. Speeches of almost all the major leaders suggest that religious polarisation is emerging as the central theme again. But the calculation is driven by a different impulse this time; there is a novel desire to remove caste and religion as the basis for economic distribution rather than the explicit assertion of it.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<h5>Most upper-caste Hindus are expected to vote for the BJP and they will be doing so for communitarian rather than caste reasons</h5>
</blockquote>
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<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Most upper-caste Hindus are expected to vote for the BJP and they will be doing so for communitarian rather than caste reasons" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Some of the development policies and promises do appear to have had an electoral impact, this cannot be construed as an indication of the end of identity politics. All parties, in varying degrees, remain anchored to a caste-community calculus. But the dynamics of voting goes beyond the arithmetic of caste. And that makes politics of UP qualitatively different from the identity politics of the past.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The 2017 campaign signifies that there is no contradiction between identity and issue-based politics. This necessitates that politicians underplay caste and communal identities and touch overarching topics. The sharper import of issue-based election might actually merge with identity-based social groupings. This coalescence would not do away with caste/community-based voting trends, but these are increasingly informed by development concerns.

&nbsp;

While voters say issues, such as livelihoods, employment and law and order are key concerns but when it comes to voting, there is a community bias in this election which is likely to overpower the instinctive caste bias of the UP voter. Every single news report indicates that most upper-caste Hindus are expected to vote for the BJP and they will be doing so for communitarian rather than caste reasons. Along the same line, the BSP and SP, claiming to represent the socially backward population as a whole, provide disproportionate representation to Dalits, Muslims and OBCs respectively.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

As election progressed from west to east UP, the focus of campaigning shifted from development to religion and caste arithmetic of the past

It is commonly said that the road to New Delhi passes through Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. UP is not just any other state. It is the largest with a population of over 200 million, and is politically an extremely important state but also one of the most socio-economically backward in India. With its 80 Members of Parliament (MP) and 403 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA), UP has been the nerve centre of Indian politics. In the 2014 national election, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the state, winning 71 of these seats (with coalition partner Apna Dal winning two more). Without a large number of seats from UP, the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would not have had the majority to form government at the Centre. The importance of UP for national politics can never be overstated. The results of a bitterly fought and excessively long (7-phase) 2017 assembly election will have a crucial bearing on the template of the 2019 elections. Hindu nationalism and caste-based parties gave momentum to the process of identity politics, occupying spaces vacated by the once-dominant Congress party × Over the years, UP has seen remarkable changes in its politics both within and across ruling parties and coalitions. The impetus for change originated in the political realignments that began to take place in the late 1980s. The emergence of Hindu nationalism and caste-based parties gave momentum to the process of identity politics, occupying spaces vacated by the once-dominant Congress party. The tropes of Mandal Commission controversy and the Babri Masjid issue dominated the political narrative in the 1990s. Later, as Dalit mobilisation reached a high tempo, it shaped electoral outcomes in this crucial state. The churning in UP was the most stunning expression of a new political paradigm, with caste-based parties and factions disrupting traditional arrangements and drawing hitherto marginalised forces into play. Two political parties, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) symbolised this process. The SP and BSP have governed the state for most of the past two decades. These parties and the governments they dominate have empowered the lower castes. Both parties have raised the standing and representation of the Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Consequently, increasing number of disadvantaged groups are part of the ruling elite now, with an access to state resources. Though a lot still needs to be done, economic and educational development has weakened caste barriers in Uttar Pradesh. But castes are not classes. Constructed around caste, political representation and the activism surrounding it inevitably promotes symbolic rather than substantive changes. The politics is crucially limited by bitter competition for power and fights over resources. It is also marred by the absence of a common agenda on structural changes which could have facilitated the redistribution of resources. If we compare the Samajwadi party with parties in South India, it is clear the latter draws on a much longer history of social mobilisation and this has defined substantive social welfare agenda in the southern states. In UP, by contrast, political empowerment was not building on a long record of social mobilisation. In fact, OBC politics in Uttar Pradesh came into its own during the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations that gave the members of backward classes a political heft. from the outset, it was principally a top-down process of gaining power. No attention was paid to the promotion of broader social policies with the aim to level the playing field for everyone. In Uttar Pradesh, OBC and Dalit politics was all about transforming the pre-existing balance of social powers, and not addressing socio-economic inequalities. Clearly, poverty is not seen as a problem on par with the problem of social inequality. Consequently, the state has lagged behind in terms of economic and social development in comparison to other Indian states. The two overarching themes of this election are the growing discontent with under-development and the wider aspiration for development. × The 2017 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh marks a transition from identity politics to the politics of development. The two overarching themes of this election are the growing discontent with under-development and the wider aspiration for development. Although the overall record of the past five years of the Samajwadi party led government is not encouraging, there had been a spurt in development activities in the last two years. In the event, the election is being contested on the promise of development. The current Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s slogan ‘Kaam Bolta Hai’ (the work speaks for itself) signals the attempt at building a counter-narrative around economic development. Akhilesh has gone to the polls showcasing new expressways, the Lucknow metro project, distributing laptops to students and bicycles to girls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mordant criticism of the UP chief minister’s development work and his pungent disparagement of the claims all other parties underscore the sharp divide over which party can promote development better than others. Meanwhile, BJP claims ‘it will end development’s 14-year exile in UP’. As the 2017 election progressed from western to eastern UP, the focus of political campaigning shifted from development to the religion and caste arithmetic of the past. Speeches of almost all the major leaders suggest that religious polarisation is emerging as the central theme again. But the calculation is driven by a different impulse this time; there is a novel desire to remove caste and religion as the basis for economic distribution rather than the explicit assertion of it. Most upper-caste Hindus are expected to vote for the BJP and they will be doing so for communitarian rather than caste reasons × Some of the development policies and promises do appear to have had an electoral impact, this cannot be construed as an indication of the end of identity politics. All parties, in varying degrees, remain anchored to a caste-community calculus. But the dynamics of voting goes beyond the arithmetic of caste. And that makes politics of UP qualitatively different from the identity politics of the past. The 2017 campaign signifies that there is no contradiction between identity and issue-based politics. This necessitates that politicians underplay caste and communal identities and touch overarching topics. The sharper import of issue-based election might actually merge with identity-based social groupings. This coalescence would not do away with caste/community-based voting trends, but these are increasingly informed by development concerns. While voters say issues, such as livelihoods, employment and law and order are key concerns but when it comes to voting, there is a community bias in this election which is likely to overpower the instinctive caste bias of the UP voter. Every single news report indicates that most upper-caste Hindus are expected to vote for the BJP and they will be doing so for communitarian rather than caste reasons. Along the same line, the BSP and SP, claiming to represent the socially backward population as a whole, provide disproportionate representation to Dalits, Muslims and OBCs respectively.

Identity and development in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections

Prashant Kishore is back.

The man behind the success of Mahagathbandhan in Bihar will manage the joint election campaign of the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh&#39;s (UP)&nbsp;Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Prashant Kishore single-handedly made the strategy which defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar and ended up projecting Nitish Kumar in a way which BJP couldn&rsquo;t match during the assembly elections. Prashant Kishore was also involved in negotiations with Samajwadi Party with a close aide of Priyanka Gandhi. The earlier part of the discussion with the Samajwadi Party (SP) was held by Priyanka&rsquo;s aide in RGF and in end the discussions were taken up by Prashant Kishore, who concluded the alliance talks with SP.

Sources confirmed that by&nbsp;next&nbsp;week a new tagline for Uttar Pradesh elections would be announced by the team of Prashant Kishore. Earlier senior leaders of the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh had ganged up against Prashant Kishore, who had to shift all his attention to Punjab. But with the alliance in place the wiz kid is back, and his&nbsp;new and radical communication strategy is anathema to the senior and the old guard. Prashant Kishore was the one who gave the famous tagline of 27 saal UP behal campaign, which subsequently got junked because of national compulsions.

Gulam Nabi Azad, the Leader of Opposition and in charge of Uttar Pradesh, also made it clear when he said that the alliance was stuck to keep BJP at bay in UP. Now Kishore will have to work up a different campaign theme taking on BSP and BJP simultaneously. Prashant Kishore during Lok Sabha elections had worked for the Narendra Modi&rsquo;s election campaign. He was the brain behind the famous chai for charcha campaign. The style of Prashant Kishore is to focus on the candidate and eliminate others from the political narrative.

Now his task is cut out.

(WION)

&nbsp;

Sources said a new tagline would be announced next week

Prashant Kishore is back. The man behind the success of Mahagathbandhan in Bihar will manage the joint election campaign of the Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh's (UP) Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Prashant Kishore single-handedly made the strategy which defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar and ended up projecting Nitish Kumar in a way which BJP couldn’t match during the assembly elections. Prashant Kishore was also involved in negotiations with Samajwadi Party with a close aide of Priyanka Gandhi. The earlier part of the discussion with the Samajwadi Party (SP) was held by Priyanka’s aide in RGF and in end the discussions were taken up by Prashant Kishore, who concluded the alliance talks with SP. Sources confirmed that by next week a new tagline for Uttar Pradesh elections would be announced by the team of Prashant Kishore. Earlier senior leaders of the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh had ganged up against Prashant Kishore, who had to shift all his attention to Punjab. But with the alliance in place the wiz kid is back, and his new and radical communication strategy is anathema to the senior and the old guard. Prashant Kishore was the one who gave the famous tagline of 27 saal UP behal campaign, which subsequently got junked because of national compulsions. Gulam Nabi Azad, the Leader of Opposition and in charge of Uttar Pradesh, also made it clear when he said that the alliance was stuck to keep BJP at bay in UP. Now Kishore will have to work up a different campaign theme taking on BSP and BJP simultaneously. Prashant Kishore during Lok Sabha elections had worked for the Narendra Modi’s election campaign. He was the brain behind the famous chai for charcha campaign. The style of Prashant Kishore is to focus on the candidate and eliminate others from the political narrative. Now his task is cut out. (WION)

UP election: Prashant Kishore to manage joint SP-Congress campaign

&nbsp;

The race for winning the UP election is on. However, the recent Supreme Court ruling, forbidding aspirants to use caste and religion as vote-catching tools has thrown a spanner in the works of political parties which have been exploiting these issues for far too long.

The other spoiler for them is demonetisation. No longer can alcohol and money be used to buy votes.&nbsp;

This electoral contest will now be about performances and showing the right dreams to people.&nbsp;

While in some assembly constituencies, religion and caste-based voting will continue to stay in play, overall political groups will think twice before blatantly indulging in bigotry and hate politics.

While the battle over Uttar Pradesh is going to be a litmus test for the BJP&rsquo;s demonetisation drive, for the Narendra Modi government there is a lot more at stake.

The Political Impasse

The Lower House of the Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha, is dominated by the BJP and its alliance partners. In a house of 545, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 339 seats, of which the BJP alone holds 280. That house is done anddusted for the ruling party.&nbsp;

The Upper House, Rajya Sabha, is a different story altogether. Out of 245 seats, BJP and its alliance partners hold only 74. The Opposition has 171, with the UPA&rsquo;s tally being 71. This is a precarious situation for the BJP as some of its big bills are stuck in the RS.

The RS Conundrum

The BJP has done what it could do to push for big-ticket legislations, sometimes taking the ordinance route and exercising its executive powers.&nbsp;

Since coming to power in 2014 with a landslide victory, it has carried out demonetisation, surgical strikes at terrorist camps across the Kashmir border, ban on cow slaughter, real estate development and regulation act and gas subsidy reform.

All these accomplishments were, no doubt, aimed at catering to its voter base. For its supporters, 2014-2016 showcased Modi government&rsquo;s unwavering focus on good governance and its pro-poor and pro-middle class policies.

BJP&rsquo;s reform agenda is stuck in the parliamentary logjam, thus making the fate of GST, Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 1987, the Participation of Workers in Management Bill 1990 and the Constitution (Seventy-ninth Amendment) Bill 1992 and The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, and several others uncertain.

Win a must to bring tangible change

While four other states are also going to the polls this year, UP alone with 31 RS seats is a critical component for the BJP&rsquo;s decision-making abilities. But a landslide victory in UP alone may not be enough.&nbsp;

When the next RS elections take place mid-2018, a third of its members will change. So, the BJP needs to win UP andKarnataka comfortably and retain its grip on Gujarat, which also goes to the polls most likely in December.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The NDA&rsquo;s current tally in RS after an impressive performance by the BJP in early 2016, stands at 74, lagging far behind the halfway mark of 123.

This means that the Congress and regional parties like the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, Biju Janata Dal and the AIADMK still have the power to stonewall BJP-backed legislations.&nbsp;

The saffron party&rsquo;s inability to build bridges with key opposition parties and its failure to successfully woo potential allies is proving to be a costly affair.

&nbsp;

Narendra Modi understands the importance of translating words into action. Otherwise, the BJP will look like any other party &mdash; all promises and no delivery.

The last 70 years, dominated by the Congress, have been marked by hollow rhetoric and government inaction.

For the Congress, the 2017 elections in Punjab, Goa, UP, Uttarakhand and Manipur will be all about whether it can emerge from obscurity.&nbsp;

For the SP or BSP,&nbsp; it will be a test of whether it can continue to stem the influence of the big national player, the BJP, in regional politics. At the end of the day, the great game is about who will finally control the Rajya Sabha.

While criticising the bourgeoise, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels had remarked: &ldquo;It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his &ldquo;natural superiors&rdquo;, and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous &ldquo;cash payment&rdquo;.

&nbsp;

It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom &mdash; Free Trade.

In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation.

It may very well be a reflection of the political systems many nations have today and something that the people of India need to reflect on when they go out to cast their ballot. Their votes will determine the path India will take for many decades to come.

UP with 31 Rajya Sabha seats is critical for bringing the BJP closer to a simple majority in the Upper House

The race for winning the UP election is on. However, the recent Supreme Court ruling, forbidding aspirants to use caste and religion as vote-catching tools has thrown a spanner in the works of political parties which have been exploiting these issues for far too long. The other spoiler for them is demonetisation. No longer can alcohol and money be used to buy votes. This electoral contest will now be about performances and showing the right dreams to people. While in some assembly constituencies, religion and caste-based voting will continue to stay in play, overall political groups will think twice before blatantly indulging in bigotry and hate politics. While the battle over Uttar Pradesh is going to be a litmus test for the BJP’s demonetisation drive, for the Narendra Modi government there is a lot more at stake. The Political Impasse The Lower House of the Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha, is dominated by the BJP and its alliance partners. In a house of 545, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 339 seats, of which the BJP alone holds 280. That house is done anddusted for the ruling party. The Upper House, Rajya Sabha, is a different story altogether. Out of 245 seats, BJP and its alliance partners hold only 74. The Opposition has 171, with the UPA’s tally being 71. This is a precarious situation for the BJP as some of its big bills are stuck in the RS. The RS Conundrum The BJP has done what it could do to push for big-ticket legislations, sometimes taking the ordinance route and exercising its executive powers. Since coming to power in 2014 with a landslide victory, it has carried out demonetisation, surgical strikes at terrorist camps across the Kashmir border, ban on cow slaughter, real estate development and regulation act and gas subsidy reform. All these accomplishments were, no doubt, aimed at catering to its voter base. For its supporters, 2014-2016 showcased Modi government’s unwavering focus on good governance and its pro-poor and pro-middle class policies. BJP’s reform agenda is stuck in the parliamentary logjam, thus making the fate of GST, Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 1987, the Participation of Workers in Management Bill 1990 and the Constitution (Seventy-ninth Amendment) Bill 1992 and The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, and several others uncertain. Win a must to bring tangible change While four other states are also going to the polls this year, UP alone with 31 RS seats is a critical component for the BJP’s decision-making abilities. But a landslide victory in UP alone may not be enough. When the next RS elections take place mid-2018, a third of its members will change. So, the BJP needs to win UP andKarnataka comfortably and retain its grip on Gujarat, which also goes to the polls most likely in December. The NDA’s current tally in RS after an impressive performance by the BJP in early 2016, stands at 74, lagging far behind the halfway mark of 123. This means that the Congress and regional parties like the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, Biju Janata Dal and the AIADMK still have the power to stonewall BJP-backed legislations. The saffron party’s inability to build bridges with key opposition parties and its failure to successfully woo potential allies is proving to be a costly affair. Narendra Modi understands the importance of translating words into action. Otherwise, the BJP will look like any other party — all promises and no delivery. The last 70 years, dominated by the Congress, have been marked by hollow rhetoric and government inaction. For the Congress, the 2017 elections in Punjab, Goa, UP, Uttarakhand and Manipur will be all about whether it can emerge from obscurity. For the SP or BSP, it will be a test of whether it can continue to stem the influence of the big national player, the BJP, in regional politics. At the end of the day, the great game is about who will finally control the Rajya Sabha. While criticising the bourgeoise, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels had remarked: “It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his “natural superiors”, and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous “cash payment”. It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom — Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation. It may very well be a reflection of the political systems many nations have today and something that the people of India need to reflect on when they go out to cast their ballot. Their votes will determine the path India will take for many decades to come.

Aiming for a decisive victory in the Uttar Pradesh

Launching a counter-attack against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today asked her if the huge amount of money deposited in her party&#39;s bank account was a money conversion exercise as it accused her of using her Dalit identity to hide &quot;corruption&quot;.

The BJP fielded Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to attack Mayawati, and hurled other charges at them.

&quot;Her allegations are baseless and we reject it with the contempt they deserve. If the Enforcement Directorate (ED) does a routine exercise, why is she so rattled? Will your corruption be hidden in the name of Dalits. Does Mayawati want to say that her corruption should be seen as a fight against Dalits? It is an insult of Dalits,&quot; he told a press conference.

Noting that she did not deny the deposits in the BSP&#39;s account, he asked, &quot;It raises a bigger question. Is it a donation or money conversion exercise?&quot;

The development of Dalits cannot be &quot;mortgaged&quot; to corruption, he said.

Prasad also made light of her claim that Rs 104 crore found in BSP&#39;s bank account in Delhi had come by way of political donations and that those were converted into high denomination notes before being deposited after the note ban kicked in on November 8.

&quot;Small currencies were converted into bigger bills and the money was not deposited in August, September and October but soon after demonetisation. It also raised a lot of suspicion. Now we are getting signals of why she has been opposing the note ban so strongly from the first day,&quot; Prasad said.

He also rejected her claim that the ED&#39;s action was linked to her assertion that the BJP was pushing Samajwadi Party (SP)&nbsp;and Congress for an alliance for the Uttar Pradesh (UP)&nbsp;assembly polls.

&quot;This is nothing but her frustration. She made these comments only yesterday while deposits were made much earlier...As far as BJP is concerned, even if SP, BSP and Congress come together, it will emerge victorious,&quot; he said.

When asked about her demand that BJP too make public the donations it has received, he said all parties submit these details to the Election Commission which puts it on its website.

On the government&#39;s stand on electoral reforms, he said those were primarily the Election Commission&#39;s job but it was open to supporting &quot;positive reforms&quot;.

&quot;As far as improvement is concerned we are certainly open to that. There has to be proper initiative and consensus,&quot; he said.

When asked about Mayawati&#39;s assertion that the ED action would help her in the Uttar Pradesh state elections the same way as the alleged Taj corridor corruption case started under the NDA I in 2007, Prasad said, She had forgotten that there were Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and what happened to her party then.

(PTI)&nbsp;

'Her allegations are baseless and we reject it with the contempt they deserve', said Prasad, the lawyer the BJP fielded to attack Mayawati

Launching a counter-attack against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today asked her if the huge amount of money deposited in her party's bank account was a money conversion exercise as it accused her of using her Dalit identity to hide "corruption". The BJP fielded Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to attack Mayawati, and hurled other charges at them. "Her allegations are baseless and we reject it with the contempt they deserve. If the Enforcement Directorate (ED) does a routine exercise, why is she so rattled? Will your corruption be hidden in the name of Dalits. Does Mayawati want to say that her corruption should be seen as a fight against Dalits? It is an insult of Dalits," he told a press conference. Noting that she did not deny the deposits in the BSP's account, he asked, "It raises a bigger question. Is it a donation or money conversion exercise?" The development of Dalits cannot be "mortgaged" to corruption, he said. Prasad also made light of her claim that Rs 104 crore found in BSP's bank account in Delhi had come by way of political donations and that those were converted into high denomination notes before being deposited after the note ban kicked in on November 8. "Small currencies were converted into bigger bills and the money was not deposited in August, September and October but soon after demonetisation. It also raised a lot of suspicion. Now we are getting signals of why she has been opposing the note ban so strongly from the first day," Prasad said. He also rejected her claim that the ED's action was linked to her assertion that the BJP was pushing Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress for an alliance for the Uttar Pradesh (UP) assembly polls. "This is nothing but her frustration. She made these comments only yesterday while deposits were made much earlier...As far as BJP is concerned, even if SP, BSP and Congress come together, it will emerge victorious," he said. When asked about her demand that BJP too make public the donations it has received, he said all parties submit these details to the Election Commission which puts it on its website. On the government's stand on electoral reforms, he said those were primarily the Election Commission's job but it was open to supporting "positive reforms". "As far as improvement is concerned we are certainly open to that. There has to be proper initiative and consensus," he said. When asked about Mayawati's assertion that the ED action would help her in the Uttar Pradesh state elections the same way as the alleged Taj corridor corruption case started under the NDA I in 2007, Prasad said, She had forgotten that there were Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and what happened to her party then. (PTI)

BJP attacks Mayawati over Rs 104 cr in bank account

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