BJP gets its game wrong in UP

The BJP drew a blank in the bypolls for two Lok Sabha and three Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. But for party-hopper Ramakant Yadav...

The BJP drew a blank in the bypolls for two Lok Sabha and three Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. But for party-hopper Ramakant Yadav, who lost to BSP8217;s Akbar 8216;Dumpy8217; Ahmad by 53,000 votes, the party lost deposits in all other seats. The party, however, retained the Betul Lok Sabha seat, a saffron stronghold in Madhya Pradesh.

The UP results don8217;t bode well for the party. Hari Shankar Tiwari8217;s son, BSP8217;s Kushal, won Khalilababad 8212; which had a fair BJP presence in the past 8212; defeating Samajwadi Party8217;s Bhalchandra Yadav by over 64,000 votes. It seems the Brahmins voted for the BSP with a vengeance. The BJP had earlier heaved a sigh of relief when the BSP8217;s Dalit-Brahmin alliance failed to click in the Balia bypoll a few weeks ago.

The Azamgarh result puts a big question mark over the ad hocism in the party. While the Yadav-dominated constituency has never been a BJP turf, the party8217;s decision to field Ramakant Yadav, a known history-sheeter who8217;s done his time in the SP and the BSP in the past, surprised everyone.

Ramakant8217;s politics also showed a bankruptcy of ideas. The local bodies elections in the state over a year ago had opened a window of opportunity for the party in urban centres. A few were, however, tempted to replicate the 8220;Meerut model8221;, where a polarisation resulted in a huge victory for the BJP in the mayoral elections.

This time round, Ramakant played 8220;Azamgarh8217;s Hindu warrior8221; even borrowing idioms like 8220;Gujarat model8221; in his bid to consolidate Hindu votes. A top state leader, however, sounds a word of caution: 8220;You cannot expect principled politics in a belt that has produced the likes of Mukhtar Ansari and Chota Shakeel. Ramakant was our best bet, and the demand came right from Ground Zero.8221;

Were this trend to continue, the BJP and the Congress would be reduced to appendages to the dominant BSP and SP in the state 8212; 8220;Tamil Nadu pattern,8221; as a top leader says 8212; something that is bothering the party no end. Party vice-president Kalyan Singh recently said the state will have to 8220;add at least 35 seats8221; to the BJP kitty if it hopes to be the next ruling party at the Centre, something that doesn8217;t seem to be happening.

A top BJP leader doesn8217;t quite agree. 8220;The terms of reference will change in the parliamentary elections. Bypolls generally favour the ruling party, so not much should be read into the results. There are lessons to be learnt, though. The BJP lost its core support base after its tie-up with the BSP in the state. Something similar is happening in Bihar that may well get reflected in the next elections.8221;