Not caste in stone

The Samajwadi Party,taking a cue from its rival,the BSP,is trying its best to woo the significant Brahmin vote in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2014 polls. It organised a special convention on Parashuram Jayanti,where Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav praised and cajoled the community. By all accounts,at a moment when the Indian electorate is handing out decisive verdicts on governance,the SP is still not looking beyond a familiar playbook. Caste matters,of course. But it may no longer be the sole arbiter of electoral victory.

Ever since the Congress patchwork came apart,parties like the SP and BSP formed themselves around assertive caste mobilisations. Identity was stridently defined,usually in confrontation with other identities. Then,those lines softened,strategic alliances were soldered. The BSP,the voice and movement of the Dalits in UP,reached out to Brahmins,Thakurs and Muslims,instituting “bhaichara committees” in the party organisation to help build relationships,connect the “core” with the “plus” vote. The Congress and BJP have been trying to skim off votes from each of these sections,and the SP is looking beyond its traditional strongholds. But while poring over caste configurations remains vital,recent poll verdicts have underlined why it can no longer be the predominant calculus. A victory,now,appears to be more than the sum of a few castes. It is,more and more,a sweep across castes and communities,fuzzing boundaries. As UP has shown in the last two assembly elections,and as Karnataka confirmed recently,election mandates are becoming more emphatic,declaring impatience or disappointment with the incumbent,investing generously in a new beginning. UP is one of the last states where the contest is fragmented. It remains,even at the constituency level,a multi-cornered fight. And yet,UP has also voted in greater cohesion than ever before. In 2007,the BSP won an overwhelming victory and the SP found support across the caste spectrum in 2012.

So far,the SP government has failed to make good on its promise of change. It has politicised the law and order apparatus,much like the bad old days of its previous stint in power. The young chief minister has been unable to dispel the perception of too many power centres,pulling in different directions. A re-reading of the mandate that swept Akhilesh Yadav to power in 2012 might persuade him of the perils of concentrating his efforts on special appeals to select caste groups,rather than on impartial governance.