After staying under the radar for much of the campaign, the BSP leader is emerging as a decisive factor in eastern UP.
Mayawati is a mystery, a political enigma that pundits fail to fathom and pollsters often underestimate. No one predicted her decisive victory in the 2007 assembly elections (when she won 206 of 403 seats), no one knows how she became chief minister of Uttar Pradesh three times before that, twice with outside support from the Bharatiya Janata Party and once by forming an alliance with the Mulayam Singh-led Samajwadi Party. Given her phenomenal bargaining strength with rivals and her uncanny ability to bounce back after a political setback, Mayawati remains the most pivotal player in UP politics. Will she repeat 2007 in 2017?
As elections in UP enter the crucial slog overs with the last two phases, reaching the eastern frontier, the economically backward Bhojpuri-speaking Purvanchal region, where per capita income is half that of western UP, a fierce new political polarisation, something most polling agencies glaringly missed, is becoming evident: a ferocious fight between the BJP and BSP, both brutally battling for the anti-SP, anti-incumbency vote. Purvanchal is poor, Mayawati tells the crowds at her rallies, your children go for jobs to Mumbai. Don’t the BJP-Shiv Sena goons humiliate your boys in BJP-ruled Maharashtra? The crowds roar ‘yes’. Once elected, Mayawati promises, she will create a separate state for Purvanchal. The message is direct, focused and powerful.
In the 2012 assembly polls, the SP had swept Purvanchal, winning 50 of the 89 assembly seats, while current alliance partner Congress won 7. The BJP cornered 11 seats, and the BSP 13 (the Quami Ekta Dal, which has recently merged with the BSP, won 2). The crucial question in 2017 is how many of the 57 seats will the SP-Congress alliance manage to retain in a competitive three-cornered contest?
This story is from the March 13, 2017 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 13, 2017 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Check On Sale Of Insurance
Complaints about insurance mis-selling come up mostly when a claim is rejected or the policyholder doesn't get what he thinks he bought the policy for
How To Make Better Financial Decisions
Let logic, not emotion, dictate your wealth choices. Understand your emotions first, then temper them with facts, and you will arrive at better financial decisions
WHEN DO YOU GET AN INCOME TAX REFUND?
An assessee becomes entitled to an income tax refund when the tax they have paid exceeds what they are liable to pay in a financial year
STANDING UP AND TRANSFORMING LIVES
THE LAUNCH EVENT OF THE MAHINDRA RISE INITIATIVE, ORGANISED BY THE INDIA TODAY GROUP AND MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA, HONOURED WOMEN TRAILBLAZERS WHO ARE LEADING THE CHARGE FOR A BETTER INDIA
THE SENSE OF ARRIVAL
Samantha Ruth Prabhu's journey in the film industry has been about finding success by overcoming fear
IN THE SAFE ZONE
AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES ARE INCREASINGLY FOCUSSED ON BETTER AND MORE ADVANCED SAFETY FEATURES IN THEIR CARS. HEIGHTENED CUSTOMER AWARENESS HAS GIVEN THIS AN ADDED IMPETUS
TWIN STRIKE
WE GET A LEG OVER APRILIA'S MADE-IN-INDIA RS 457 AT THE GRUELLING KARI MOTOR SPEEDWAY
INDIAN SAFETY RATINGS FOR CARS
THE BHARAT NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAM RATES THEM FOR BOTH ADULT AND CHILD OCCUPANT PROTECTION
THE MEDIUM, NOT THE MESSAGE
We live in an age where there is an economy built on distraction and a complete corruption of attention.
HAIL TO THE KING - THE HYUNDAI CRETA GETS MAJOR UPDATES, LOOKS SET TO CONTINUE AS SEGMENT LEADER
Just under four years after the arrival of the second generation Creta, Hyundai has given its bestseller a major overhaul with a significant redesign of the exterior and interior, more features, enhanced safety and a new turbo petrol powertrain.