Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati recently invoked Ram Manohar lohia and Bhim Rao Ambedkar — the icons of the two parties — while talking about fighting unitedly to realise their dreams. The Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD), too, has joined them. Some leaders are saying that the Congress is in a dilemma, but is ready to join the Mahagathbandhan even with very few seats. The BJP’s alliance with the Apna Dal and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) is also intact. In the last lok Sabha Elections, the BJP had given three seats to the Apna Dal, and tied up with OP Rajbhar’s party, the SBSP, after the elections. This time, the BJP might give one seat to the SBSP.
On one hand, there is a possible alliance of four parties, and on the other hand, there is an alliance of three parties. In the last Assembly Elections, these seven parties had got 94 per cent votes. Then there was no direct fight. At that time, the alliance of the BJP, Apna Dal, and SBSP had got 325 seats with 41.4 per cent votes. The alliance of the SP and Congress had got 54 seats with 28.2 per cent votes; and the BSP had got 19 seats with 22.2 per cent votes. The RlD had put forward 131 candidates in the last Assembly polls. These four parties of the Opposition had got 52.2 per cent votes in total. The remaining 6 per cent votes had gone to other parties and Independent candidates.
It seems that other parties won’t fight elections this time or they will become a part of any of the alliances. The Quami Ekta Dal of Mukhtar and Afzal Ansari, Peace Party of India of Mohamed Ayub, and Nishad Party of Praveen Kumar Nishad will probably remain with the SP this time, but parties like the Mahan Dal, lok Dal, and Ulema Council will not be seen this time around.
BSP’S BHIM ARMY WOES
Almost all small parties in Uttar Pradesh have started their positioning; they will either go with the Mahagathbandhan or side with the BJP alliance. But the Bhim Army is somewhat different. It has not fought even a single election till date, but has managed to consolidate its mass base in the entire State. Its leader Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ is in jail, and before and after his arrest, there was violence and a lot of politics in Saharanpur and the adjacent areas. And this attracted the youth towards the Bhim Army.
Jignesh Mevani, who became an MlA with the support of the Congress in Gujarat, is also a supporter of the Bhim Army. The Bhim Army also staged a protest in Delhi for the release of their chief, ‘Ravan’. He had been arrested in June last year and got bail in November. But after that, the State Government put him in jail again under the National Security Act. Meanwhile, in the last one year, Chandrashekhar’s name has reached every Dalit village of the State, and he has a huge following among the youth. He has become the symbol of battle against the forwards, especially Thakurs.
The latest buzz is that the Bhim Army is gearing up to fight elections. Recently, Mayawati sacked her party’s vice-president and national co-ordinator, Jai Prakash Singh. Now, he has joined the Bhim Army, and this is worrying the BSP. If the Bhim Army decides to fight elections in western UP, the Dalit votes will not remain consolidated. The Bhim Army will get the support of Dalit organisations from the entire country.
THE PlANS OF AIMIM
In UP, apart from the Bhim Army, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will be another challenge before the SP-BSP alliance. Asaduddin Owaisi’s party fights almost everywhere. The Congress and other anti-BJP parties allege that the AIMIM helps the BJP and fights election on its funds, but these allegations never worry Owaisi. He has earlier fielded his candidates in Karnataka, Bihar, and UP elections. In the last Assembly Elections of UP, the AIMIM had fought on 38 seats. Though not even a single candidate won, it did confuse the Muslim voters. The same thing had happened in Bihar, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.
This time too, the SP and BSP are apprehensive of Owaisi’s move; they feel that the AIMIM will field its candidates in Muslim majority areas. The leaders are worried about Owaisi’s speeches, which might lead to polarisation in favour of the BJP, which will be the ideal situation for the party.
TDP, CONG TO JOIN HANDSij
Recently, the BJP President Amit Shah had targeted the Opposition by saying that whenever there is a massive flood, all snakes, mongooses, cats, dogs, and even cheetahs and lions climb up a huge tree as they fear the rising water levels. In Uttar Pradesh, the SP and BSP are joining hands, and at the same time, people are saying that two strong opponents in another State will also come together, ie the Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Though for the time being, it is being said that the Congress and TDP will fight together only in Telangana. In 2014, the TDP and BJP had fought together in Telangana. They are natural allies and have stayed together in an alliance. But the TDP and Congress were never in an alliance; rather it can be said that the TDP has always opposed the Congress ideology.
But there is buzz that both parties will join hands. The TDP has parted ways with the BJP and had put the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi Government in the last Session of Parliament. The Congress had supported the TDP’s move with all its strength. However, in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the Assembly Elections are held along with the lok Sabha polls. Interestingly, the Congress is on margins in both States.
In Andhra, the Congress’s first choice was the main Opposition party, the YSR Congress, but it is seemingly inclined towards the BJP. In Telangana, the ruling party, the TRS, is also inclined towards the BJP. That means in both States, there is a possibility that the BJP will get very strong allies. In this scenario, if the TDP and Congress go separately, they might face a greater challenge. That is why they have started negotiations in Telangana. They might also go into an alliance there for the Assembly Elections. In Andhra, the TDP will face difficulty in going with the Congress because people still think that the Congress was responsible for the division of the State. So, Chandrababu Naidu will probably not take any risk.
NAME CHANGING SPREE IN UP
The Government of India has made a rule: All airports will be named after the city they are located in. But the UP Government wants to change the name of the airports, especially of those which are located in class II cities. Not only this, the BJP and Yogi Government want to change the name of many cities of the State as well. Allahabad and lucknow are on the priority list of the Government, but it seems there are some obstacles in its path. This is also being said that the name of Allahabad could be changed to Prayag before the Ardh Kumbh schedule for early next year.
Also, the State Government wants to change the name of airports in Bareilly, Agra, and Kanpur. The Government has passed a proposal to change the name of Bareilly airport to Nath Nagari. This must be noted that CM Yogi Adityanath is a Mahant from the Nath community. Some time ago, he named the civil terminal of Gorakhpur after Mahayogi Gorakhnath. In the same manner, his Government has given a proposal to change the name of Kanpur airport to Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi airport. The Government also wants Agra airport renamed as Deen Dayal Upadhyay airport. Recently, the name of Mughalsarai railway station was also changed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar.
