05-12-2007, 01:09 AM
http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/26/stories/...381100.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Â Dalit-Brahmin formula
Ms. Mayawati's answer to this is her by-now famous Dalit-Brahmin formula. Fortuitously for her, Dalits and Brahmins are in sizeable numbers through the region. The BSP plan was evident in the supremo's high-energy rally in Sultanpur. A riveting qawali (musical chorus) on the theme of caste harmony kept the crowds engaged through the five hours they waited for the BSP leader. In an enchanting mixture of awdhi and bhojpuri, the qawals, by turn sang paeans to sarvajan (all social groups) unity. Qawali over, little Saurav Misra reeled off names of Brahmins who had clambered on to the BSP bandwagon; he himself was one of them, he said proudly.
When Ms. Mayawati arrived, it was to frenzied shouts of "Behen Mayawati zindabad; sarva samaj zindabad (hail Mayawati, hail all social groups.) And with the audience standing on its feet clapping, she unveiled her new slogan: "Haathi nahi Ganesh hai; Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh hai (it is not elephant but Ganesh; it is Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh)."
The BSP chief did not once utter the word manuwad. The emphasis instead was on sarvajan. People accused the BSP of narrow-mindedness but its choice of candidates proved how utterly wrong they were, she said, reading from the party list: 139 candidates from the forward castes, among them 86 Brahmins, up from 37 in 2002. Ms. Mayawati asked to know if any other party had done even half as much for the forward castes. Indeed, in Rae Bareli, she threw a sharp taunt at the Congress. The Congress was supposedly a party of Brahmins: "But consider the irony. The party has not fielded a single Brahmin candidate in this entire region."
The BSP feels the Congress' neglect of Brahmins in this region will work to its advantage. And the man implementing the BSP project is Satish Chandra Misra. The party general secretary and the brain behind its Brahmin jodo abhiyan, Mr. Misra has been heli-hopping across the State, seeking Brahmin votes for the BSP. For Brahmins brought up to view the BSP with suspicion, Mr. Misra's high-profile presence in the party is a huge reassurance. That he has a helicopter all to himself is a talking point in the Brahmin-dominated villages of Amethi and Rae Bareli. Brahmins here acknowledge their close bond with the Gandhi parivar, yet say they feel let down by the Congress. Coming at such a time, the BSP attention is naturally welcome, and Mr. Misra has cashed in on this by flying more than once into the Amethi-Rae Bareli belt.
Aware of the damage this can do to the Congress, the family has been harping on unity. At her rallies, Ms. Vadra tells voters not to be swayed by caste feelings. "We got freedom because Gandhiji united us. Your future lies in remaining united behind the Congress." The family's strength is its pan-Indian appeal. Yet the Gandhi magic has thus far worked only in the Lok Sabha elections. If the Gandhis can change the pattern, they will have pulled off a coup.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Â Dalit-Brahmin formula
Ms. Mayawati's answer to this is her by-now famous Dalit-Brahmin formula. Fortuitously for her, Dalits and Brahmins are in sizeable numbers through the region. The BSP plan was evident in the supremo's high-energy rally in Sultanpur. A riveting qawali (musical chorus) on the theme of caste harmony kept the crowds engaged through the five hours they waited for the BSP leader. In an enchanting mixture of awdhi and bhojpuri, the qawals, by turn sang paeans to sarvajan (all social groups) unity. Qawali over, little Saurav Misra reeled off names of Brahmins who had clambered on to the BSP bandwagon; he himself was one of them, he said proudly.
When Ms. Mayawati arrived, it was to frenzied shouts of "Behen Mayawati zindabad; sarva samaj zindabad (hail Mayawati, hail all social groups.) And with the audience standing on its feet clapping, she unveiled her new slogan: "Haathi nahi Ganesh hai; Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh hai (it is not elephant but Ganesh; it is Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh)."
The BSP chief did not once utter the word manuwad. The emphasis instead was on sarvajan. People accused the BSP of narrow-mindedness but its choice of candidates proved how utterly wrong they were, she said, reading from the party list: 139 candidates from the forward castes, among them 86 Brahmins, up from 37 in 2002. Ms. Mayawati asked to know if any other party had done even half as much for the forward castes. Indeed, in Rae Bareli, she threw a sharp taunt at the Congress. The Congress was supposedly a party of Brahmins: "But consider the irony. The party has not fielded a single Brahmin candidate in this entire region."
The BSP feels the Congress' neglect of Brahmins in this region will work to its advantage. And the man implementing the BSP project is Satish Chandra Misra. The party general secretary and the brain behind its Brahmin jodo abhiyan, Mr. Misra has been heli-hopping across the State, seeking Brahmin votes for the BSP. For Brahmins brought up to view the BSP with suspicion, Mr. Misra's high-profile presence in the party is a huge reassurance. That he has a helicopter all to himself is a talking point in the Brahmin-dominated villages of Amethi and Rae Bareli. Brahmins here acknowledge their close bond with the Gandhi parivar, yet say they feel let down by the Congress. Coming at such a time, the BSP attention is naturally welcome, and Mr. Misra has cashed in on this by flying more than once into the Amethi-Rae Bareli belt.
Aware of the damage this can do to the Congress, the family has been harping on unity. At her rallies, Ms. Vadra tells voters not to be swayed by caste feelings. "We got freedom because Gandhiji united us. Your future lies in remaining united behind the Congress." The family's strength is its pan-Indian appeal. Yet the Gandhi magic has thus far worked only in the Lok Sabha elections. If the Gandhis can change the pattern, they will have pulled off a coup.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->