Gadkari Express In Maya Land

With the mercury rising in north India the political heat too is generating in Uttar Pradesh as the state assembly elections are approaching closer. In this perspective, the BJP has sounded the trumpet for 2012 assembly election in UP with a series of anti-government protest rallies in the state. At these rallies, the BJP took the resolve to weed out Mayawati government and replace it with a clean and transparent administration provided by the BJP. Rapping the BSP, Congress and SP, the BJP said it was the only party that could provide development for the society. Coming down heavily on BSP, SP and Congress, BJP president, Nitin Gadkari said that the dream of Ramrajya could be fulfilled only by BJP. “No other parties can do this as they are involved in corrupt practices,” he added. Talking on Ram Mandir issue, Gadkari said that the Court’s decision had paved the way for the construction of the Mandir and now it’s public’s turn to support BJP in constructing Ram Mandir. He also targeted the Mayawati government for its lack of vision for the developmental activities of the state. The rallies were held in Meerut, Varanasi, Faizabad and Agra. In Gorakhpur, the rally was cancelled owing to the bye-election in Pipraich held on May 8. All these rallies, which were addressed by Nitin Gadkari and other senior leaders of the BJP, attracted massive gathering. “The public attendance in these rallies has sent out a signal loud and clear that people of this state are fed up with the corrupt BSP government. They want a change and BJP could emerge as a good replacement,” said one of the senior BJP leaders of the state, while talking to media persons in Lucknow. He said these rallies had infused a sense of confidence in the party cadres. “They now know what people want and what they expect from BJP. The talk in the party cadres is just to remain united so that they could turn the tide this time,” he added.

                Here it is noteworthy that under the visionary leadership of Nitin Gadkari, the BJP, which was afflicted with internal bickering in the state, is now speaking in one voice. Former BJP president Rajnath Singh is not only consolidating the Thakur votes in the state but he is championing the cause of farmers as a whole too. Underlining the importance of agriculture in India with the involvement of 55 per cent to 60 per cent people in this sector, he said at one of the rallies that the government could not ignore them as they contributed to 14 per cent of the GDP. He further said: “If the BJP comes to power, it will increase the support prices of wheat and sugarcane to Rs 1300 and Rs 350 per quintal, respectively. The farmers will be given loans at an interest rate of 3 per cent for cultivation and spared from paying the interest for the first year.” He also took to task the central government for allocating merely 2 per cent to 3 per cent of the budget for agriculture.

                The BJP is striving hard to regain its influence in UP, which once was the saffron stronghold of the BJP. Further, since UP being the largest state in terms of the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats, the BJP has set its eye on the state for the 2014 general election. Hence, in Agra’s rally, Nitin Gadkari said that when BJP would come to power in Centre and in Uttar Pradesh, it would take action against the political leaders who were fleecing public money. Talking about corruption, he held the Congress responsible for 2G scam, CWG scam, inflation and the rampant corruption. Citing the involvement of several ministers in corruption cases and three BSP ministers in rape and murder cases, Gadkari said that such parties could not carry out development of a state. He declared that the BJP would not enter into an alliance with either BSP or Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). “We would prefer to sit in opposition than forming an alliance with opportunistic parties,’ he said. In a scathing attack on Mayawati government, he said that politics of racism and communalism in Uttar Pradesh had caused a huge loss to the development of the state. He further said that the BSP and the Congress appeared to be having a secret pact that explained the reason as to why the BSP supported the Congress rule at the Centre, while they were at loggerhead in the state. While the BJP has launched salvos at the BSP government, it seems all is not well in UP for the Mayawati government, as the state witnessed a major reshuffle in the administration recently after Chief Minister Mayawati visited various districts to check the pace of development. According to reports, she suspended top-notch administrative officials after finding sorry picture of the developmental work. The CM observed that the orders issued for development were not being implemented at the lower level of the administration. However, the slipshodness of the senior-most government officers is still well known. Also the law and order condition in the state is in a dismal condition. The Uttar Pradesh police is reported to have failed to maintain law and order and this came into light when cases pertaining to Dalit harassment were not registered in Devaria. What is more, a BSP MLA raped a minor Dalit girl recently and instead of the culprit, the victim was put behind the bars. When media picked up this report, the culprit was arrested. It was in this backdrop that BJP’s National Vice President Kalraj Mishra said at a rally that Mayawati’s regime had created a situation of lawlessness in the state and if voted to power, the party would seize Mayawati’s assets and declare it as state property. Here it is worth mentioning that Kalraj Mishra has been entrusted with the task of convener of Election Management Cell of the BJP in order to bring the Brahmin votes in party’s kitty. It is to be noted that Brahmins, who brought Mayawati to power in the state, are completely disenchanted with the Mayawati government’s functioning and it should amaze none, if they switch sides to BJP in the next election.

                Further, it is well known that Uma Bharti, in her desperation to rejoin the party, has been knocking the doors of party’s bigwigs. So Gadkari may take advantage of the situation by re-inducting her into the party. If this is done, it would be a wise ploy to garner the Dalit votes. For, it is no secret that the Sannyasin, who has been championing the cause of backward-caste people, has immense influence not only among Dalits but also among upper castes. Thus, given all these equations, it would be apt to say that the BJP is all set to go full steam in the forthcoming elections in the state.

By Deepak Kumar Rath