03-09-2006, 05:00 AM
<span style='font-family:Geneva'> <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo--> Post-Varanasi, Cong nervous about changing UP equations
Politics As BSP woos upper castes, Left fears polarisation may push SP to BJP
NEERJA CHOWDHURY
Posted online: Thursday, March 09, 2006 at 0138 hours IST
NEW DELHI, MARCH 8: The Congress has betrayed a nervousness in the aftermath of the Varanasi bomb blasts, which have the potential to change political equations in Uttar Pradesh. Even as Sonia Gandhi along with Home Minister Shivraj Patil airdashed to Varanasi within hours of the blasts and Congress leaders gave a rhetorical rebuttal to L K Advaniâs announcement of another nationwide yatra, the party seems to have no plan to deal with the emerging scenario.
Close on the heels of the BJPâs Yatra, came the BSP call for a UP bandh. BSP chief Mayawati lost no time in trying to cash in on the hurt feelings of the Hindus, particularly the upper castes. She has been wooing the Brahmins in recent weeks with a section of the upper castes gravitating towards her, making her the frontrunner in the electoral battle that lies ahead.
The only thing that may give comfort to the Congress is the subtle change among Left leaders. With the threat of communal divide looming large on the political horizon, the Left has given every indication of inching closer to the Congress, whom the former has put on the mat in recent months. It was the communal polarisation in the wake of Mandal during the 90s that had decimated the Congress in the Hindi heartland.
Hinting at the possibility of a greater proximity, CPI(M) MP and Politburo member Sitaram Yechury has said that it has been possible to take up ââkey issuesââ relating to the economy and foreign policy in the last two years because the communal temperatures have come down, even though the communal agenda has by no means been given up.
The Left supporters in West Bengal and Kerala understood the issue on which they were opposing the Congress and those on which they were acting in unison. Though there had been a âdivergenceâ of opinion between the Left and the Congress ââon the USââ and on foreign policy, he said ââthere has never been a distance between us and the Congress on defeating the BJPââ.
The Left is apprehensive that with a polarisation, the Samajwadi Party is playing into the hands of the BJP. Though the CPI(M) may not break with Mulayam in the forthcoming UP elections, having concluded that SP is the largest secular force in UP, Yechury also admitted that ââat the present moment the objectives of the SP and the BJP dovetailââ. The CPI(M) Politburo meeting during March 10-12 will decide the strategy towards Mulayam and take stock of the latest situation.
The BJP has been quick to smell an opportunity in Varanasi to âreigniteââ the sagging morale of its cadres, unite the party, oust the Left from the position it has come to acquire and come into reckoning once again in Uttar Pradesh.
With some of the Congress decisions in recent months like Army census on religious lines, setting up a Ministry for Minority Affairs headed by a Muslim, reservation for Muslims in Andhra Pradesh, ensuring the minority character of the Aligarh Muslim University despite the court verdict to the contrary, amendment in the Foreignerâs Act, which have agitated Hindus, the BJP feels it has enough ammunition against the Congress and the UPA to attack its policy of âminorityismâ and create a Hindu backlash.
So what would be the political fallout of Varanasi? A wag quipped, ââThe upper castes may also vote tactically like the Muslims.ââ In other words, the upper caste vote may get divided between the BSP and the BJP, if the BJP gets a response. This could also mean Advantage SP, which has found itself on the backfoot with a deteriorating law and order situation, crime and scandals, the phone tapping scandal, and a restiveness among Muslims unless, of course, the Congress can come up with a way of going on a counter-offensive.</span>
Politics As BSP woos upper castes, Left fears polarisation may push SP to BJP
NEERJA CHOWDHURY
Posted online: Thursday, March 09, 2006 at 0138 hours IST
NEW DELHI, MARCH 8: The Congress has betrayed a nervousness in the aftermath of the Varanasi bomb blasts, which have the potential to change political equations in Uttar Pradesh. Even as Sonia Gandhi along with Home Minister Shivraj Patil airdashed to Varanasi within hours of the blasts and Congress leaders gave a rhetorical rebuttal to L K Advaniâs announcement of another nationwide yatra, the party seems to have no plan to deal with the emerging scenario.
Close on the heels of the BJPâs Yatra, came the BSP call for a UP bandh. BSP chief Mayawati lost no time in trying to cash in on the hurt feelings of the Hindus, particularly the upper castes. She has been wooing the Brahmins in recent weeks with a section of the upper castes gravitating towards her, making her the frontrunner in the electoral battle that lies ahead.
The only thing that may give comfort to the Congress is the subtle change among Left leaders. With the threat of communal divide looming large on the political horizon, the Left has given every indication of inching closer to the Congress, whom the former has put on the mat in recent months. It was the communal polarisation in the wake of Mandal during the 90s that had decimated the Congress in the Hindi heartland.
Hinting at the possibility of a greater proximity, CPI(M) MP and Politburo member Sitaram Yechury has said that it has been possible to take up ââkey issuesââ relating to the economy and foreign policy in the last two years because the communal temperatures have come down, even though the communal agenda has by no means been given up.
The Left supporters in West Bengal and Kerala understood the issue on which they were opposing the Congress and those on which they were acting in unison. Though there had been a âdivergenceâ of opinion between the Left and the Congress ââon the USââ and on foreign policy, he said ââthere has never been a distance between us and the Congress on defeating the BJPââ.
The Left is apprehensive that with a polarisation, the Samajwadi Party is playing into the hands of the BJP. Though the CPI(M) may not break with Mulayam in the forthcoming UP elections, having concluded that SP is the largest secular force in UP, Yechury also admitted that ââat the present moment the objectives of the SP and the BJP dovetailââ. The CPI(M) Politburo meeting during March 10-12 will decide the strategy towards Mulayam and take stock of the latest situation.
The BJP has been quick to smell an opportunity in Varanasi to âreigniteââ the sagging morale of its cadres, unite the party, oust the Left from the position it has come to acquire and come into reckoning once again in Uttar Pradesh.
With some of the Congress decisions in recent months like Army census on religious lines, setting up a Ministry for Minority Affairs headed by a Muslim, reservation for Muslims in Andhra Pradesh, ensuring the minority character of the Aligarh Muslim University despite the court verdict to the contrary, amendment in the Foreignerâs Act, which have agitated Hindus, the BJP feels it has enough ammunition against the Congress and the UPA to attack its policy of âminorityismâ and create a Hindu backlash.
So what would be the political fallout of Varanasi? A wag quipped, ââThe upper castes may also vote tactically like the Muslims.ââ In other words, the upper caste vote may get divided between the BSP and the BJP, if the BJP gets a response. This could also mean Advantage SP, which has found itself on the backfoot with a deteriorating law and order situation, crime and scandals, the phone tapping scandal, and a restiveness among Muslims unless, of course, the Congress can come up with a way of going on a counter-offensive.</span>