Missing Maya back in UP battleground

With the BSP always following the strategy of caste-based mobilisation,the party leaders are at a loss to plan their campaign.

Sources said party chief Mayawati,who arrived in Lucknow from Delhi Friday after a gap of over three months,is expected to chart out a new strategy for the party’s election campaign in UP.

She will be holding meetings with senior party leaders and coordinators in the coming days. “As all other parties have intensified their campaign in UP,BSP also needs to kick off its full-fledged campaign. Behenji will now stay in Lucknow for a longer period,” said a party leader.

The BSP had held over 30 rallies in various parts of the state between May and July with its Brahmin Bhaichara Sammelans being addressed by party’s Brahmin

face and general secretary Satish Chandra Misra. Most programmes were organised by party’s Brahmin leaders.

But soon after these sammlenas were concluded with a large rally addressed by party chief Mayawati at Ramabai rally ground in July,the Lucknow bench of Allahbad High Court,while hearing a PIL,ordered an interim ban on caste-based rallies.

Party sources said like its previous campaigns,the party was planning to hold Bhaichara Sammelans for other castes and communities as well. They were to be organised and addressed by leaders of those communities leaders. However,the plan went awry after the high court order.

In July,Mayawati had,however,claimed that her party will continue its caste-based rallies but will not name these rallies after any particular caste.

The subsequent campaigns were addressed by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Swami Prasad Maurya and state president Ram Achal Rajbhar as “BSP Karyakarta Sammelan” organised at a few places but they failed to gather momentum.

After the high court’s order,the party has not been able to streamline its campaign and senior party leaders have addressed only one or two rallies at a few places. “Earlier programmes(which used to be named after a caste) were organised by that caste’s leaders to show their community’s support for the party,but the enthusiasm among the leaders is not same for a workers; sammelan,” a party leader said.