- The crucial assembly election to the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh is just a few weeks away following the announcement made by the Election Commission of India which will be held in seven stages. Even before the announcement, the principal political parties viz., Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Samajwadi Party had already hit the road months back drumming up support and consolidating vote banks. As reports suggest, the incumbent party is well-positioned to return to power yet again going by the pre-poll surveys though anything can happen on the eventual outcome on the counting day.
PC: way2barak
- If the BJP manages to retain power as predicted, it will be breaking the 35-year-old trend of the ruling party not returning to administer again in the most populous state. On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party is increasingly positioning itself as the most formidable force taking on the might of the BJP whose remarkable electioneering machinery needs no further elaboration. The UP government led by Yogi Adityanath has made its intentions clear about flaunting the Hindutva narrative despite the opposition parties’ vehement cries of communalism and jingoism hogging center stage.
- On the other hand, Akhilesh Yadav led SP has made some smart moves over the last couple of months is not only positioning itself as the party that can take on the might of the BJP but also exuding visible confidence to subdue the saffron brigade at the hustings. Impressive crowds thronging the SP rallies would definitely provide much-needed confidence and verve to lure the all-important voters to choose the red caps. Ideally speaking, any elections should be fought on developments where education, healthcare, employment, law & order, and peaceful existence along with opportunities to choose from are guaranteed.
PC: Neelie Verlinden
- As usual, the political parties will not flinch from bandying about manifestos that contain promises, assurances, incentives, inducements, and reassurances. It’s another story altogether that majoring of the promises just remains so, mere promises which never gets to see the day of light. You see, we Indians are quite used to the repetitive rigmarole played out during every election. The ensuing election to UP assembly too has by-now-familiar ingredients and more in the form of caste-based permutations and combinations. It is proved beyond doubt that cracking an extremely complex caste conundrum ensures a political party to be crowned the winner.
- Mind you, the other-backward-castes, the most-backward-castes, the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, and the minority communities form the bulk of the electorate. Add to the mix the upper castes including the all-important business communities, already muddied electoral paraphernalia gets even murkier. Make no mistake, smartly accommodating the representatives from these castes go a long way in deciding the emergence of a triumphant party. Against this backdrop, the BJP and the SP have made decisive moves in forging alliances with these leaders hoping to go one up against the other. Unfortunately, what is lost in the melee is the development plank that should be the only criteria taking a backseat by making way for social engineering. Sadly, this narrative will not change in the near foreseeable future either. Let’s soak in the Dance of Democracy!
