SP’s rural protest a litmus test for its grassroots preparedness

This is for the second time within a month when the party would hold protests against the state government within a month. Earlier it had held three-day protests,from March 7 to 9,in towns across the state. This time,the agitation will be held in all the villages. The idea is to outsmart the police which cannot spread out to every villages. “We are thankful to Chief Minister Mayawati’s advisers who prompted her to warn Mulayam Singh against any further agitation. It is a golden opportunity for the party to extend the agitation to rural parts,” said a party leader.

Sources in the party said SP chief started giving special focus on strengthening party’s base at grass roots level soon after it lost power in 2007 polls. “Gradually,the ruling BSP got its men accommodated in the cooperative bodies at ground level. The cooperative bodies used to be source of political strength for the SP,” a source in the SP explained reason for Mulayam Singh’s special focus on the constitution of committees at the ground level. “Although the booth/sector committees existed in the party for a long,it had never functioned properly,” the source added.

Party insiders said Mulayam personally sent observers to get such committee constituted at the village level after the party’s victory in the by-election at Bhadohi Assembly seat in March 2009. “Now I can tell you that the SP is well connected with almost every village in eastern and central UP,” the party leader added. According to him,each booth committee comprises 10 active members. “One booth committee accommodates 21 members. But we have identified 10 ten active members for every booth committee,” he added.

Since the SP has almost completed its task of constituting the three-tier committees,the party now wants to show its strength at the village level. “The district units have been asked to work out strategies for the success of March 7 agitation. Local leaders would try to cover almost every village to make people aware about the misdeeds of the BSP government. SP wants to project it as the most suitable option for the people to dislodge Mayawati government,” said SP leader Om Prakash Singh.