Maya has last laugh

Guess who’s having the last laugh again in Uttar Pradesh. With the ruling BSP winning the Gauriganj Assembly bypoll, Chief Minister May...

Guess who’s having the last laugh again in Uttar Pradesh. With the ruling BSP winning the Gauriganj Assembly bypoll, Chief Minister Mayawati has silenced both the Congress and critics within the BJP, her partner in power.

BSP candidate Jang Bahadur Singh, a Thakur, won by a margin of 7,504 votes in Gauriganj, which falls in the Congress stronghold of Amethi. With this, Mayawati has sent out a message that none, not even Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, can make inroads into her Dalit votebank. She has also driven home the point that POTA has not distanced the powerful Thakur lobby from her party.

The BJP is the biggest loser, coming third in both the Gauriganj and Haidergarh bypolls. The Samajwadi Party’s Arvind Singh Gope won the Haidergarh seat by 3,964 votes.

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While the Gauriganj seat had fallen vacant following the death of Congress MLA Noor Mohammed, the Haidergarh seat had been represented by former chief minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh before he got elected to the Rajya Sabha.

‘‘The POTA issue has had its impact on the BJP. It is clear that at both places, the Thakur lobby sided with the non-BJP candidates. The BJP had 28 Thakur MLAs of the current strength of 87 but the party’s non-action on the issue has angered the community. The BJP’s defeat is also a failure of state chief, Vinay Katiyar who had vowed to get the BJP to the first slot,’’ said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.

Stung by the defeat, the Congress hit out at the BSP. ‘‘The CM misused official machinery and engaged nearly 20 of her ministers to ensure the BSP’s victory,’’ Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.

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