04-15-2007, 02:40 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>In silent mode, BJP surges ahead </b>
Pioneer.com
Sidharth Mishra | Bijnore/Moradabad
Cool response to RLD, SP, BSP in Charan Singh land
The improved performance of the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, which is taking pollsters by surprise, is not just fuelled by SIMI-Afzal-bashing, as a majority of analysts would like to believe.Â
<b>A leading 24x7 channel, which initially did not expect the BJP to get more than 60 seats, is already putting the party's tally at three figures after two phases of voting.</b> But the channel is crediting inflammatory speeches by inconsequential leaders for the BJP's comeback. Obviously it has not bothered to look beyond public meetings.
Bijnore, best known politically for initiating Union Minister Meira Kumar and BSP boss Mayawati to electoral politics, would probably offer a clue to those looking for reasons behind the BJP's resurgence.
On the northern bank of Ganga, this region remained inaccessible and politically isolated for a long time. When the region goes to poll on April 18 for the remaining seats of west and central Uttar Pradesh, it would reflect in a big way the changed social and political scenario of the region.
<b>Home to Jat and Muslim kulaks, Bijnore gave Chowdhary Charan Singh seats on a platter. This time around, it's the BJP that is the constant factor in all the seats, </b>which go to the polls on April 18. Pitted against the BJP are candidates varying from Ajit Singh's Lok Dal to BSP to Samajwadi Party and even the Congress.
<b>What makes the BJP a force to reckon with in an area that is known for rural affluence and has a very nominal urban electorate?</b>
The uppermost factor is anti-incumbency. There certainly is an element of disillusion with the Samajwadi Party Government. And there is a section that wants to vote for change, looking beyond the caste of the candidate. Such voters may be less but they do act as catalysts.
Which is the party that can be an alternative to Mulayam Singh Yadav's family farce? <b>Certainly not the BSP, whose campaign is totally based on spitting venom at its rivals and caste arithmetic</b>. The Congress, despite its roadshows, is still far from being taken as a serious challenger. This leaves the BJP as an option worth consideration. The BJP's strategists are in no mood to let go of this opportunity.
In a way, the BJP is replicating its Delhi campaign in this part of Uttar Pradesh. In Delhi, it had put its house in order, organised a well-coordinated campaign and benefited from the disgust that people harboured for their Congress councillors. <b>The hard work by the party's organising secretaries, who are RSS pracharaks, to galvanise cadre and consolidate voters in rural Uttar Pradesh has given a big boost to the BJP's chances</b>.
In Delhi, voters were constantly reminded of inflation through pamphlets carrying the comparative prices of vegetables and pulses during the NDA and the UPA regimes. <b>In this region, the benefits that accrued to farmers during the NDA regime at the Centre and the BJP Governments in the States are finding focus.</b>
The comparison is very simple. Just before the polls were announced, the <b>Mulayam Government decided on an all-time high of Rs 125 per quintal as the support price for sugarcane. The BJP cadre have been quick to point out that when their party went out of power five years ago, it was paying Rs 100.</b>
To drive their point further, they say that while the<b> BJP Government paid Rs 100 for cane when sugar sold at Rs 900 per quintal, Mulayam's Government is offering a support price of Rs 125 for cane when sugar is selling at Rs 1,400 per quintal.</b> <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
To the credit of Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh Governments, the sugar mills during their time were forced to pay sugarcane growers within the stipulated period. This year, the mills are refusing to pay up, citing cash crunch. In a region where there is at least one sugar mill in each of the seven constituencies, the non-payment of sugarcane dues could be a major grouse against the incumbent Government.
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Pioneer.com
Sidharth Mishra | Bijnore/Moradabad
Cool response to RLD, SP, BSP in Charan Singh land
The improved performance of the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, which is taking pollsters by surprise, is not just fuelled by SIMI-Afzal-bashing, as a majority of analysts would like to believe.Â
<b>A leading 24x7 channel, which initially did not expect the BJP to get more than 60 seats, is already putting the party's tally at three figures after two phases of voting.</b> But the channel is crediting inflammatory speeches by inconsequential leaders for the BJP's comeback. Obviously it has not bothered to look beyond public meetings.
Bijnore, best known politically for initiating Union Minister Meira Kumar and BSP boss Mayawati to electoral politics, would probably offer a clue to those looking for reasons behind the BJP's resurgence.
On the northern bank of Ganga, this region remained inaccessible and politically isolated for a long time. When the region goes to poll on April 18 for the remaining seats of west and central Uttar Pradesh, it would reflect in a big way the changed social and political scenario of the region.
<b>Home to Jat and Muslim kulaks, Bijnore gave Chowdhary Charan Singh seats on a platter. This time around, it's the BJP that is the constant factor in all the seats, </b>which go to the polls on April 18. Pitted against the BJP are candidates varying from Ajit Singh's Lok Dal to BSP to Samajwadi Party and even the Congress.
<b>What makes the BJP a force to reckon with in an area that is known for rural affluence and has a very nominal urban electorate?</b>
The uppermost factor is anti-incumbency. There certainly is an element of disillusion with the Samajwadi Party Government. And there is a section that wants to vote for change, looking beyond the caste of the candidate. Such voters may be less but they do act as catalysts.
Which is the party that can be an alternative to Mulayam Singh Yadav's family farce? <b>Certainly not the BSP, whose campaign is totally based on spitting venom at its rivals and caste arithmetic</b>. The Congress, despite its roadshows, is still far from being taken as a serious challenger. This leaves the BJP as an option worth consideration. The BJP's strategists are in no mood to let go of this opportunity.
In a way, the BJP is replicating its Delhi campaign in this part of Uttar Pradesh. In Delhi, it had put its house in order, organised a well-coordinated campaign and benefited from the disgust that people harboured for their Congress councillors. <b>The hard work by the party's organising secretaries, who are RSS pracharaks, to galvanise cadre and consolidate voters in rural Uttar Pradesh has given a big boost to the BJP's chances</b>.
In Delhi, voters were constantly reminded of inflation through pamphlets carrying the comparative prices of vegetables and pulses during the NDA and the UPA regimes. <b>In this region, the benefits that accrued to farmers during the NDA regime at the Centre and the BJP Governments in the States are finding focus.</b>
The comparison is very simple. Just before the polls were announced, the <b>Mulayam Government decided on an all-time high of Rs 125 per quintal as the support price for sugarcane. The BJP cadre have been quick to point out that when their party went out of power five years ago, it was paying Rs 100.</b>
To drive their point further, they say that while the<b> BJP Government paid Rs 100 for cane when sugar sold at Rs 900 per quintal, Mulayam's Government is offering a support price of Rs 125 for cane when sugar is selling at Rs 1,400 per quintal.</b> <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
To the credit of Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh Governments, the sugar mills during their time were forced to pay sugarcane growers within the stipulated period. This year, the mills are refusing to pay up, citing cash crunch. In a region where there is at least one sugar mill in each of the seven constituencies, the non-payment of sugarcane dues could be a major grouse against the incumbent Government.
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