Uttar Pradesh 2017: Mayawati Deserves A Victory
She seeks no alliance because deep inside she knows she can win this one. By vote share she does lead the third largest party in the country. And, foremost of all, there is an acute need for Dalit liberation in the country. Just like India had to say we are our own country, Harijans will have to say we are our own religion. We do lay claim to the Ved-Puran-Upanishad just like the Christians lay claim to the Old Testament, but we are our own religion, we are not Sanatani, and we are not Hindu, we are Harijan. We worship Ram. Our book is the Tulsidas Ramayana. Ramcharitmanas. We disown the Valmiki Ramayan as a work of slander by a Sanatani Shaitan on par with Ravana. We will build a Ram Temple, but there will be a mosque side by side. We want to co-exist with the Hindus and the Muslims, but we are nobody’s untouchables. We inhabit nobody’s caste system. We will not accept anything less than religious equality. We will outlaw all discriminatory behavior that targets Harijans. We will have the police fight and eliminate caste violence, which will be renamed religious violence. We will empower our community through education, health and entrepreneurship.
The Yadavs are the Krishna people. We Harijans are Ram people. Hare Rama, Hare Krishna. We want to spread the good word globally. And so, we are one with the Hare Rama Hare Krishna mission. We harbor no animosity towards the Yadav community, but democracy thrives on political competition. That is the best way to serve the good people of Uttar Pradesh.
Mayawati is both Harijan and a woman. She has been both in power and opposition. She has also served in Delhi as a MP. And she is in a position to fight caste violence, gender violence, and religious violence at the same time. Just like Nitish ran on a one point law and order plank in 2005, Mayawati’s one point mantra now seems to be
Aman Chain, as in, law and order. If she were to elaborate on that and make it specific, she gets the Dalits, the women, and the Muslims. That would be enough to secure her a victory. Law and order really is the agenda item number one. That is the top responsibility of any state anywhere. You deliver on that one, and then you can build development and progress on top of it.
Maybe finally Uttar Pradesh’s time for double digit growth rates has come. She might even hold conversations with Nitish on that one post victory.
Law and order kah ke to jit gaye, ab age ka rasta kya hai, jara bolo. Roads and bridges, schools and hospitals, ease of doing business.
Waise bhi koi mysterious baat hai nahin. Abhi tak to baat obvious ho gayi hai. Jagah jagah log kar rahe hain. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are India’s heartland, the core of the Hindi belt.
She could rule Uttar Pradesh and act equi-distant to both the National Democratic Alliance and the Grand Alliance at the national level. That is also a valid option. As in, it is very possible for Mayawati to win Uttar Pradesh in 2017, and for Modi to again sweep the state in 2019. As long as the country’s growth rate is north of 10%, I don’t see how he can have a problem.
Her national agenda is not Modi or Nitish. Her national agenda is to organize the Dalits nationally. Uttar Pradesh is only a start.
Lekin pramukh mudda hai ki Harijan ko alag dharm ke rup mein samvidhan mein darj karvao. Just like Yadavs have no caste, Harijans also have no caste. Brahmins are going to have to have a standalone identity, just like the Yadavs and the Harijans. They may not build hierarchies for others. The Bramhin identity is going to have to be a cultural identity. If they disagree, sue them. Take them to court.
Gender violence, caste violence, religious violence. Dial 100 is a good idea. But many more women will have to be recruited into the police force. When an act of gender violence gets reported, the police team that shows up should have at least one female police officer. Riots can be eliminated. There should be an early warning system like for cyclones and tsunamis. Corruption and political interference have to be rooted out from law enforcement. Fast track courts have to be put in place like in Bihar. Maybe Uttar Pradesh will put 150,000 petty criminals behind bars in UP.
Dalits will have to get organized before they can be liberated, and Mayawati’s BSP is the best vehicle for that organization work nationally. Majlis might also make inroads among Muslims nationally if they toned down the rhetoric a little, and if they can show good governance in some major city and also some state. Ultimately it is about governance. You have to show you can put together an appealing political platform, then that you can build an organization and a political campaign that wins you a mandate, and once you get it that you govern, you deliver on the promises. The Majlis president has performed very well in the national parliament, but I don’t see the Majlis governing anywhere. There is work to do. Ironically, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have lots and lots of Muslims, and there people like Laloo, Nitish, Mulayam and Mayawati are eating the cake. They are not leaving much room for Majlis. Because Majlis has no governance track record in their own home territory. They are a rhetoric party so far.
Harijan ke tarah Musalman ko bhi age aana hoga. Hindu ke saath per capita income parity lena hoga. Employment aur housing mein discrimination fight karna hoga. Uske liye lawmaking ki jaroorat hai.
BJP mein Modi ka leadership socially uplifting hai. The BJP could also be competing for both Dalit and Muslim votes. Why not?
