Opinion The Mayawati-Rahul revolution

Three years ago,the map of Indian politics looked very different from what it does now. The UPA was beginning to get into trouble with its allies over the nuclear...

February 21, 2010 02:37 AM IST First published on: Feb 21, 2010 at 02:37 AM IST

Three years ago,the map of Indian politics looked very different from what it does now. The UPA was beginning to get into trouble with its allies over the nuclear deal and in the UP elections,Congress fared miserably. Rahul Gandhis foray into electioneering did not work and the Congress polled a smaller percentage of votes and fewer seats. The BJP did not do very well either. It had dreams of winning UP with the Samajwadi Party and then challenging the UPA in the Lok Sabha. Rajnath Singh failed to charm the UP voters. Mayawati emerged triumphant and showed that her blend of Dalit/Brahmin politics may yet show the way out of Mandal. At the same time she devalued the mandir issue because no one seemed to care about it.

Three years on,we have a different situation. Mayawati failed to cash in on her UP success in the 2009 elections. Her dreams of being PM at the head of a Third Coalition bit the dust. Her grandiloquent bonanza of statues also met a check from the courts. Rahul Gandhi did not pay heed to the chamchas who praised his 2007 UP election efforts and got his head down and worked away,meeting the many Kalawatis in rural UP. It paid off and the Congress got 20-odd seats.

The combination of Mayawatis triumph in 2007 and the UPAs in 2009 put several markers down in Indian politics. The BJP realised that electoral success depends on following the trends set by the two elections which they lost. Their narrow sectarian emphasis on Hindutva and the temple issue,the Varun Gandhi issue,were counter-productive and the nation drifted away from them.

The reality is that the Dalit vote cannot be ignored by any party nor can it be taken for granted. It has to be fought for not by an ideology which isolates them into ghettoes but by delivery of better outcomes. This is because Dalits are just the same as all other Indian citizensthey are aspirational and eager to have obstacles removed from their paths. Mayawati proved how important the Dalit vote was and Rahul Gandhi succeeded in getting the Dalit vote out of the clutches of the BSP.

This,more than anything,explains what Nitin Gadkari is doing in Indore. He went to Mhow,the birthplace of Babasaheb Ambedkar. In doing this,he repeated the gesture he made of garlanding the Ambedkar statue on his return to Nagpur after being crowned the head of the BJP. He,too,has learnt the lesson. Dalits are Indians and they cast their votes at election time. There is no way an exclusive upper caste vote would get BJP into power even if they did agree with the BJP about mandir/masjid issue and,of course,they dont agree.

The BJP has also understood that the exclusionary politics of the Shiv Sena is poison. This is why,in the Shah Rukh Khan and My Name is Khan episode,it stayed away from the Sena. It is clear that Indians do not take to these divisive ideas anymore. Indians know and like Shah Rukh Khan,as they like Sachin Tendulkar.

But the greatest miracle was that even the Congress in Maharashtra got Rahuls messagestop the Shiv Sena from getting publicity and enjoy immunity from the law just because it can make mayhem. The first right of every Indian is to have protection from the agencies of law and order. Every Indian has a right to go about his or her life as he or she pleases,as long as they abide by the law. The Sena was defeated. There is no gain in labelling voters as Marathi Manoos since they are Indians as much as the Dalits are.

The best of the week was Gadkaris offer that the BJP will help build a mosque if the Muslims let them build the mandir. Good idea. Why not build a multi-faith complex on the single site and celebrate inclusive India? Let the Ramjanmabhoomi be put to some good use. Maybe the Congress should promise that in its UP election manifesto.