Agro Politics
The SP and BSP are , without doubt , casteist parties . While SP depends heavily on the Yadavas and Muslims , BSP claims the monopoly over the Dalits votes plus some Muslim votes . It is an unconcealed fact that by and large , Muslims have been against the BJP and in this election were expected to vote against the BJP . Muslims are considered to be politically very wise and vigilant and they vote in favour of the candidate who can defeat the BJP , irrespective of the party he / she belongs to . This was the reason why the gathbandhan was overconfident of pulverising the BJP this Lok Sabha election . It was considering itself to be invincible but all the planning proved to be day-dreaming . The reality is that in this complicated deal , vote transference didn ’ t happen among partners across the State though it had worked at the bypoll level . The Congress has almost no presence in UP . It has been nonexistent for all practical purposes for nearly three decades . Yet for all the concentrated focus by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to wean the upper castes away with her temple run and boat rides , the bottomlines are disastrous . Except for Rai Bareli , the grand old party has not been able to retain even Amethi from where its national president Rahul Gandhi was contesting . These two seats have been the pocketborough of the Congress and except for 1977 , both have always been held by the party . The so-called Congress Brahmastra , too , failed .
Now let us consider how the BJP was able to shatter the dreams of the gathbandhan . Results show that while the SP-
BSP combine could not make any significant change in the political contours of Uttar Pradesh , the BSP has been quite lucky . In fact , it has ridden piggyback on the larger appeal of a front . In the last Lok Sabha elections of 2014 , the BSP had drawn a blank . On the other hand , SP could secure five seats last time , mainly held by family members , including one by Mulayam Singh Yadav . This time , it has held just nine seats . However , the BSP under Mayawati has improved its tally from zero to 12 . This shows that despite getting full support of Muslims and Yadavas , the SP has not been able to get the Dalit votes transferred in its favour . It is also alleged that Mayawati did not send her message to the Dalits in favour of the SP candidates because in her heart of hearts , she does not like the Yadavas . This was enough for
22 Legacy India | June 2019 www . legacyindia . in