The Wonder Called UP and it’s Poll Battle
Posted : January 27, 2012 at 10:49 am [IST]
Why is UP so important but still so different? The battle for ballot is on. People wonder if this election will go to the party and candidates who are masters in the mathematics of caste with money accumulated through corruption or to those who are cleaner and have worked in some way or the other to improve the lives of the people of their constituency. However, there is no doubt that all are working hard through all promises to swing the mood of the people in their favour.
Mayawati had surprised the nation in 2007 by its performance. Will she be able to repeat the score? All but her own people perhaps like the way she spends the money on statues, parks and pet projects around her birthplace. However, I like her huge impressive infrastructure projects such as F1 world class car racing course, super specialty hospital, ultra-modern school for deprived class in Noida, or the Yamuna Express way. I wish she could have done fast work on Ganga Express way too. I heard she has transformed Lucknow. However, she didn’t do anything in East. Varanasi remains filthy. The lives of the great artisans and craftsmen manufacturing world famous silk saris, carpets, metalwares or leather goods have hardly changed. Eastern region hardly got professional colleges on the line West of UP got. But I feel really bad because Mayawati could hardly do anything to improve the living condition of even those who vote her and will still vote her. It is that lot who get satisfied just with little. One must handhold them rather than doling to them to make them empowered contributing to the country’s wealth. If Mayawati confesses to have missed on her priorities and promises to focus on the empowerment of the deprived class instead of the middlemen that have mushroomed even in that class, I still will prefer Mayawati. I wish she does something about the rural women’s healthcare that is just miserable, with the same gusto she goes for building parks.
Let me confess I hate the Mulayams and Lalus who profess what they are not. Except for improving his home town, Mulayam with Amar didn’t do anything for UP and its people. I don’t understand even his speeches. However, this time perhaps Mulayam is only campaigning for the party that has been taken over by his son Alkhilesh. And I was amazed to see a total change in the mindset of the party with the promises for tablets for students who pass Class X and a laptop to all students who clear Class XII. However, the promise of 18% reservation for minority is highly political and dangerous for the country. If Mulayam wins, it will be a cabinet of his family that will rule UP.
Coming to Congress Party, I hope the hype created by Rahul now joined by Priyanka too will add to its number in UP assembly. I don’t know how much the reservation and special benefits announced for minority and the Rushdie Episode will facilitate their game plan. But to me the most attractive was the Rahul’s promise of getting 1000 technical training institutes set up in UP ,though it may not increase the votes in favour. I wonder why he couldn’t get this done before this election with his government at the centre. After all UP is the state of his ancestors and they have fought elections from this state. None would have stopped them from setting up these institutes or add more in the state for higher education.
I can’t say anything about the score of BJP that is gradually getting away from the main stream and more so with the 18 to 20 percent of the population outright voting against it when the elections are won or lost by few percentages these days. But who knows in the battle of the three parties for getting the minority votes BJP gets benefitted. The people at large don’t know the strength of RSS that arranges votes for it. But for commoner like me the induction of both Uma Bharati and Kushwaha makes it difficult to go for it.
However, I have a Utopian though essential wish to save UP. Can’t the Congress and BJP come together to get rid of Mulayam and Mayawati (One is family centric and the other self centric) from UP politics and bring the politics of the state on the national line?
I know that is not possible but there is nothing wrong in dreaming.
- Indra
Category: Indian politics |
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