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Mayawati throws her hat in the ring

Hindustan Times | By
Jan 15, 2019 06:44 PM IST

It is truly a testament to the swings in Indian politics that a leader whose obituary was being written less than two years ago — remember her devastating loss in 2017 and how she got no seats in 2014 — is today a potential PM contender. Whether she makes it or not will depend on how her alliance gamble works

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati’s birthday has always been a political occasion. Critics may have perceived the grand show of strength and display of presents during her past birthdays as ostentatious and excessive. For the party rank and file, and her Dalit voters, it often was a symbol of community empowerment, and how far their leader had travelled. But her birthday on Tuesday was particularly special for Ms Mayawati because of the political backdrop. It came three days after she locked in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh (UP), and four months before the big 2019 elections.

Using the occasion, Ms Mayawati addressed reporters in her trademark style, with a written statement. Three core messages came through. The first was to BSP and SP workers. She reiterated her commitment to the alliance; she told the workers that they must forget their past grudges and rivalries and work together; and she cited the Centre’s investigations against Akhilesh Yadav as proof of its vindictiveness and a signal to her base that this was as much an attack on her. All of this was important to do because Ms Mayawati knows the success of the alliance rests on both parties working together, and their votes getting transferred to each other. The second message was that, for the alliance, both the BJP and Congress were rivals. She attacked the government for its policies both at the Centre and in the state, for economic mismanagement and divisive politics. But she also reminded her audience that the Congress had ruled the country for most years after independence and the BSP’s roots could be traced to its failures. While the alliance’s main battle is with the BJP, Ms Mayawati — with this position — was clearly seeking to distance herself from both parties. And finally, Ms Mayawati laid out a critique of the farm loan waiver policy implemented so far, by pointing to its limited impact. She rightly argued that most farmers took loans outside formal banking channels, and were thus excluded from the policy. But then she more contentiously argued for a complete waiver of all loans. Whether this is really the structural solution to the agrarian crisis in the country is questionable.

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Most of all, Ms Mayawati was positioning herself as a national leader. By saying that by virtue of its size and political strength, UP would play a part in determining who would be PM, she was throwing her hat in the ring. It is truly a testament to the swings in Indian politics that a leader whose obituary was being written less than two years ago — remember her devastating loss in 2017 and how she got no seats in 2014 — is today a potential PM contender. Whether she makes it or not will depend on how her alliance gamble works.

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