The unravelling

Yet,for all its stated concern about preserving communal harmony,violence between communities has flared all over the state,be it in Mathura,Pratapgarh,Bareilly,Lucknow,Ghaziabad or Faizabad. The police has been undermined by the party’s own workers,who interfere in administrative decisions and rub in their contempt for the law and order apparatus. Akhilesh Yadav has failed to rein in these elements,prompting unwelcome memories of previous SP governments. What’s more,its advocacy of Muslim issues has been at the level of gesture alone. After making the sweeping manifesto promise that all terror cases against innocent Muslims would be withdrawn,for instance,it made no effort to present evidence and prove their innocence,and merely asked the courts to withdraw cases “in the interest of communal harmony”. Not surprisingly,the government’s shoddy defence has only elicited judicial reprimand.

The perception that Akhilesh Yadav is not in control and that the government is virtually led by his father and other SP elders,has not been actively dispelled. Now,by all accounts,Mulayam Singh Yadav appears to be focused on 2014,and all the energies of party and government are being poured into pre-election gestures. As the leader who promised the people of his state a new beginning and a clean slate,it is Akhilesh Yadav’s responsibility to break through the old habits and constraints,and arrest his government’s backsliding.