Coming back to the changes in the political scenario in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh in the last Assembly elections downplayed Muslim-Yadav equation by giving prominence to the leaders of the Extremely Backward Castes (EBC). He got the prominent leaders of EBC like Swami Prasad Maurya resign from the NDA and join his alliance. In the distribution of tickets, priority was given to the leaders of these caste groups.
New Delhi: The victory of Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua among his fans, in Azamgarh Lok Sabha byelection marks the rising of the subalterns in the dominant castes in North India politics. It also signals the curtains on the three-decade old politics of particular families blocking minions in their caste groups from rushing through and breaking the mould in the region, particularly Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The BJP fielded Nirahua second time with the political and social message that it was serious in loosening and ultimately freeing the state of the stranglehold of Mulayam Singh Yadav family, both socially and politically.
Though it will be premature to see the sounding of the death knell for the Yadav patriarch but it is definitely a strong signal that Mulayam’s political oligarchy is under serious challenge. And it has also dawned upon Mulayam’s successor Akhilesh Yadav and Lalu’s heir Tejaswi Yadav.
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Both leaders in the last Assembly elections in their respective states realised that it was high time for them to shun the old equations and enlarge the canopy to accommodate political parahias in the Other Backward Castes and in their own caste groups.
Also the churning on the ground proved to them that the old Muslim-Yadav combine had become rusted and needed to be rejuvenated by widening the leadership net and making it more democratic. Particularly, Tejaswi Yadav gave a clear and loud message in the last Assembly elections that he was carrying over no hangover of the Lalu-Rabri regime. He reportedly ordered removal of all banners and posters where Lalu Yadav and Rabri figured to give the message that he would, if elected, give a governance which would have a complete break with old RJD Raj. And he succeeded to a great extent to set up a new caste coalition as the Mahagathbandhan brought the NDA to its knees. But the tantalising distance between the cup and leaf remained as in his arrogance he chucked out the Vikassheen Insaan Party leader Mukesh Sahani from the Mahagathbandhan which kept him away from the power. One another factor was his failure to woo the Forward Castes who bought into the BJP-Nitish propaganda of the Jungle Raj. Yet, the refurbished alliance still remains intact, and Tejaswi is busy these days with wooing the Forward Castes, particularly Bhumihars.
Coming back to the changes in the political scenario in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh in the last Assembly elections downplayed Muslim-Yadav equation by giving prominence to the leaders of the Extremely Backward Castes (EBC). He got the prominent leaders of EBC like Swami Prasad Maurya resign from the NDA and join his alliance. In the distribution of tickets, priority was given to the leaders of these caste groups.
He went further ahead of Tejaswi Yadav and proactively wooed Bhramins by promising to build a temple to Parshuram. Though his experiment on paper looked succeeding but the appeal of Hindutva across the caste groups stopped him in his tracks. Also the BJP was successfu in getting Muslim voters worked up and consolidate openly behind the Samajwadi Party which created a backlash among the Hindu voters. Otherwise how could explain the Jats and the voters in Lakhimpur Kheri and Hathras voting for BJP despite so strong negative vibes against them.
What led to the fall of the old OBC alliance and the mobilisation and consolidation of the marginal castes among them? It was the political necessity and compulsion of Nitish Kumar and the BJP which led to the innovative idea of consolidating the subalterns in the Backward Castes to upstage Lalu and Mulayam in the two crucial States. Lalu found the ground under his feet slipping when Nitish Kumar showed him the exit in 2005.
Similarly, Akhilesh Yadav had no clue when the BJP swept away the Samajwadi Party in 2017. It was the result of both: Hindutva and EBC consolidation in favour of the BJP. As of now, the Opposition in these two States look up against heavy odds but political fortunes are no one’s ancestry.
(Nirnimesh Kumar is a retired journalist of The Hindu. He worked there for 25 years and covered courts. Views expressed by him are strictly personal)