Iftar parties fall out of UP's political corridors as power balance evolves

The year is 2017. The Samajwadi Party has just lost the assembly elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Akhilesh Yadav is still working to establish himself within the party.

- Rajesh Kumar Singh

LUCKNOW:

On June 19, he hosts a grand iftar party at the SP's office located on Vikaramditya Marg. But the attention of the attendees is neither on the phalanx of political leaders on attendance nor on the food.

Instead, the meet was marked by the absence of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who chose to attend a rival iftar party hosted by Shivpal Yadav. In the bruising Yadav family feud, the iftar manoeuvre was a decisive signal.

It wasn't just the Yadavs. Till about a decade ago, the power corridors in Lucknow would be buzzing this time of the year. From Mall Avenue to Vikramaditya Marg, bureaucrats, politicians and ministers would jostle for invitations to one or the other iftar party, the most prestigious being the one organised at the chief minister's official residence on Kalidas Marg.

Along with politicians, the city's intelligentsia and members of the business community would come together. Political gossip would be exchanged, deals made, signals and hints dropped. Sometimes, a cleverly placed photograph would be enough to set off a political buzz or the rumour of an alliance.

During the second half of Ramzan, Lohia Path near the chief minister's residence was usually clogged with iftar attendees. The six-lane road was converted into a parking area, slowing down traffic on the arterial road.

It started off as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with the Muslim community that was considered the kingmaker at the time, but over time, evolved into political theatre, where attendances and absences were noted keenly.

Today, however, the VIP zone in Lucknow is conspicuously quiet; even the roads leading to the offices of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress are deserted. With Eid round the corner, only the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee has held an iftar party, on March 23.