http://www.tehelka.com/story_main30.asp?filename=Ne260507The_elephant_CS.asp
THE ELEPHANT CHARGE
A ground-breaking mobilisation driven by Bahujan ideology propelled
the BSP to a historic win, reports Shivam Vij
Blue letter day: activist Sobran Pal celebrates the triumph outside
Mayawati's residence in Lucknow
Sushil Sahai
The BSP in UP has been built around stories, real and mythological, of
the contribution of Dalit icons to India
You may have seen him on television on May 11, blue gulal all over his
bearded, happy face and brand new kurta, dancing more for the
television cameras than to the beat of the dholaks. Sobran Pal knew
this was the right time for some publicity. This was his moment as
much as it was the Bahujan Samaj Party's, and although Pal had not
been given a ticket he is instrumental for the BSP's strategy to win
over the Pals, an intermediate obc caste, not just in Uttar Pradesh
but all over India. Based in Jalaun near Jhansi, he is also the vice
president of the Uttar Pradesh Pal-Baghel Samaj, one of hundreds of
such caste-based organisations across India.
What attracted Pal to politics and the BSP is exactly what Kanshi Ram
had once told Mayawati to convince her to join politics: instead of
trying to become a civil servant, she could rule over hundreds of
civil servants. There are a few good reasons why workers like Pal are
so central to the BSP's historic victory in Uttar Pradesh's 15th
Vidhan Sabha elections. Like him, there are many workers who convince
members of their caste to vote for the BSP. This stems from the BSP's
realisation that caste is the basic unit of Indian society. This idea
is as central to the party's Sarvajan Samaj strategy as it was to its
Bahujan Samaj ideology.
The media waited outside Mayawati's residence — which is where all the
action is, the BSP office is as good as a tea shop — since 6am on May
11. Only after it became clear that a majority of the seats were in
the BSP's pocket did the security personnel convey that there was a
press conference at 3:30pm — not at her residence but, for the first
time, at the imposing Bahujan Prerna Kendra, built in 2004 but never
really used. A caravan of cars arrived and Mayawati came out in a pink
chiffon suit that is the trademark of her celebratory mode, flanked by
Satish Chandra Mishra, Nasimuddin Siddiqui and Baburam Kushwaha,
besides many security guards. She climbed up the stairs, turned to
wave to the celebrating crowd outside, and then walked ahead. She
reprimanded a television cameraman for trying to shove one of her
security guards and walked in. The room inside has three gigantic
statues — that of herself, with Kanshi Ram to her left, and Bhimrao
Ambedkar behind them. She spent a considerable time showering petals
over the two men's statues and then took her seat. The first thing she
said about her victory was that it was the victory of the ideologies
of Ambedkar, Narayana Guru, Periyar and Shahuji Maharaj, "and of all
the great men and saints of the Bahujan Samaj." Most of the daily
media did not consider it important to report this, but every BSP
worker knows what this means. The BSP in Uttar Pradesh has been built
around stories, real and mythological, of the contribution of Dalit
icons to Indian society as well as the Indian State. This has been
used as the chief instrument of imbibing a new pride in Dalits which
they can use as a self-esteem pill against the daily humiliation of
untouchability and a socially inferior status. If Mayawati's own
statue stands there, it is symbolic of her attempt to place herself in
the pantheon of Dalit icons.
Two years in advance of the election, A vast constituency-wise
database of caste population and voting blocks was collected
That attempt requires her to take the path of "Ambedkar's
Constitution", to capture power and then bring its benefits to Dalits.
The same room also has three large portraits of Mayawati taking oath
as Chief Minister. The fourth one may well have been installed by now.
This journey to power has not been easy. Dalits form only 22 percent
of UP's population, and the party's "Bahujan" or majoritarian theory
of uniting Dalits, obcs and Muslims and isolating twice-born upper
caste Hindus never really worked. Stuck with a stagnant votebank, the
party had to ally once with the Samajwadi Party (SP) and twice with
the Bharatiya Janata Party. The first alliance fell apart in four
months. The SP's attempt to break the BSP in 1995 resulted in a
vicious attack on Mayawati at a Lucknow guest house. That has become
the basis of her rivalry with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Her first
alliance with the BJP lasted six months, and the second, 18 months.
Worse, they seemed to ruin forever the BSP's chances of winning over
the "lower Muslim" vote.
In 2002, Mayawati was caught in allegations of kickbacks after
permission was granted, in violation of existing laws, to a company to
build a commercial complex near the Taj Mahal. Advocate Satish Chandra
Mishra, the party's national secretary and Brahmin mascot, persuaded
her to resign and has since been fighting the case. The Brahmin
gatherings where he persuaded them to see the BSP's election symbol,
the elephant, as Lord Ganesha added another chapter to the party's use
of mythology as a tool of mobilisation. But these Brahmin sammelans
were only the face of a wider "Sarvajan Samaj" (a society for all)
strategy. Even Banias — whose domination of the BJP is the main reason
why UP's Brahmins are upset with the party — were wooed. So were
Thakurs and obcs, particularly the lower obcs. A BSP source says that
a vast constituency-wise database of caste population and voting
blocks was collected two years in advance, and tickets were
distributed (widely rumoured to have been "sold" for amounts ranging
from Rs 25 lakh to a crore) six months in advance. Travelling through
eastern UP in mid-February, Tehelka found that the BSP had begun a
village-by-village campaign when other parties had not even announced
their candidates. Planning early has paid off for the BSP.
In the press conference that day, the second thing Mayawati said was
that the architects of the Sarvajan Samaj strategy were sitting beside
her. She introduced Satish Chandra Mishra ("he is associated with the
Brahmin society"), Nasimuddin Siddiqui and Babu Singh Kushwaha ("I did
not send him on the field but had him by my side for day to day
strategy"). In one stroke she displayed the party's "sarvajan"
credentials, but asserted twice that she had trained them. This rather
patronising way of asserting Dalit leadership, where even Brahmins
would follow her, was also reflected in the party's new slogan that
talks of behaving with the twice-born Hindus with "shishtachaar" or
respect.
A key plank of the BSP in this election was Mulayam Singh Yadav's
"goonda raj". "It was the worst this time," explains a former ips
officer. "His brother Shivpal Singh Yadav was virtually ruling the
state." The chief element of "goonda raj" is Yadavisation. The state
administration and the police is filled with Yadavs, and Yadavs in
tehsils and villages are able to act with impunity by claiming to have
"powerful connections". Licence for a gun? Just threaten the Collector
and get him to sign the no-objection letter. The BSP was able to
exploit this discontent across caste divides. The party's vote share
increased from 24 percent to 31 percent. In her autobiography,
Mayawati has written that the party needs 25 percent vote-share to
cross the majority mark. "There seems to have been a massive
rearrangement of votes," says political scientist Sudha Pai. "The obc
vote seems to have shifted away from the BJP in large numbers." Caste
realignments and anti-incumbency both work
constituency-by-constituency, and that's why 253 of 402 seats changed
hands in this election. The BSP, too, lost 33 of its seats.
With 48 seats, the BJP's size in the Vidhan Sabha has come down to the
pre-Ram Mandir era. Part of the reason for this may be tactical voting
for the BSP by Muslims. In Deoband, where the SP candidate was
expected to win, the polling was on a Friday. "After the jumma namaz,
word spread that the BJP was going to win and so the Muslims voted for
the BSP candidate who eventually won," says a Muslim worker of the BSP
from Deoband. The BSP spread the message amongst Muslims that the SP
had come to power with the BJP's underhand help.
It's no surprise that even the priests of Varanasi, who won't allow
Dalits to enter their temples, have prayed for Mayawati and the RSS
has praised her. But caste arithmetic is unpredictable as the weather.
Behenji will have to work to keep the wind in her favour till the 2009
Lok Sabha elections.
WHAT NEXT
Presidential elections: The Left is now less likely to get its way.
Given her new sarvajan strategy, Mayawati may not support the Dalit
candidate Sushilkumar Shinde
Government: All decisions taken by Mulayam since February this year
have been reversed. More of that is likely to happen in the weeks to
come
Transfers: All transfers will now be done by the currently defunct
service establishment posts, not by ministers
Industry: The Sahara group, because of its close association with the
SP, is set to fall out of favour. But another Mulayam friend, Anil
Ambani, who is building a power plant in Dadri, may find ways to
survive
MAYA'S MAHOUTS
SC MISHRA
Strategy Pundit
Satish Chandra Mishra is Kapil Sibal and Arun Jaitley put together for
the BSP. Architect of the party's alliance with Brahmins, he fights
the party cases in court, including the Taj corridor case. He was a
late entry into Mayawati's cabinet
NASIMUDDIN SIDDIQUI
Troubleshooter
Siddiqui has been close to Mayawati since 1995. Like Chanakya, he
never contests elections and enjoys power as an MLC, his job being the
party's main troubleshooter, fund manager, president of the youth wing
and, of course, the Muslim mascot
BABU RAM KUSHWAHA
Confidant
Once a telephone operator in the party office, Kushwaha is a low-
profile leader who plays a crucial role in the party as Mayawati's
secretary. He reports to Mayawati on what is happening in the party in
the
remotest districts
SUDHIR GOYAL
Spokesman
A Bania by caste, Goyal's induction as minister came as a surprise
although he is senior in the party — he was the media spokesperson in
Delhi for a party that shuns the media. He has finally given up his
day job as a Delhi University professor
May 26 , 2007
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