Headlines
Modi's praise of Mulayam stokes rumour mills in UP (News Analysis)
By
Mohit DubeyLucknow, Sep 12
In middle of last year's high-octane Lok Sabha campaign, Narendra Modi
had thumped his "chappan inch ka seena" (56-inch chest) and had taken
pot shots at Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying he
did not have it in him to make Uttar Pradesh a developed state like
Gujarat.
On Friday, at a public rally in Saharaswa in western
Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi called the Yadav chieftain a
"respected leader" and vouched for his credentials as a champion of
democracy! While the wholesome praise by its tallest leader left BJP
leaders present on the stage and even in the state capital squirming in
their chairs, the underlying political message was not missed by any.
While
it is almost impossible that the two forces would ever come together
in the future, political observers here say that for now "aag dono
taraf se barabar lagi hui hai" (it's a romance from both sides). For the
BJP, parliamen's upper house has become an Achilles heel as many bills
are stuck in wake of an adamant Congress, which enjoys a majority in
the Rajya Sabha.
Other than that, the BJP needs Mulayam Yadav to
further electorally dent the 'maha-gathbandhan' in poll-bound Bihar.
Many see it not as a mere coincidence that a day after Mulayam Yadav
and his cousin Ram Goapl Yadav drove into 7, Race Course Road for a
meeting with Modi that SP broke ranks with Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav
and announced that it would contest all 243 seats in Bihar.
While
Mulayam's Samajwadi Party does not enjoy much support in Bihar, his
walking out of the Samajwadi umbrella group has definitely given an
edge to the NDA in matters of perception, and the ruling party of Uttar
Pradesh, with its past base of 2-3 percent votes, will certainly eat
into the Yadav-Muslim combine that would have otherwise voted for
Nitish Kumar (JD-U) and Lalu Prasad (RJD).
A little after a year,
Uttar Pradesh will go to polls and in all likelihood, the SP might not
return to power. With poor law and order, the power crisis, growing
crimes against women, debt-ridden farmers and communal riots, Mulayam
Yadav needs a 'shoulder' post-2017 when his party might be caught in the
political doldrums. Adding to his woes is the CBI probe into the
alleged corruption of tainted Noida chief engineer Yadav Singh.
Only
recently it has been found that Ram Gopal Yadav's son and party MP
from Firozabad Akshay Pratap held over 9000 shares in a company co-owned
by the tainted engineer. The SP desperately needs support from the
centre to keep the premier investigative agency off its back.
By
praising Mulayam Yadav, Modi has also succeeded in confusing the Muslim
voters. "He has once again tricked many. Now Mulayam will be accused of
hobnobbing with the BJP and the minority vote would split between
SP-BSP and Congress, giving an edge to the saffron camp," a party
veteran said.
For the BJP, Modi has only set the agenda of
"further isolating the Congress" in parliament and also "ensuring that
the so called 'maha-gathbandhan' secular formation in Bihar crumbled
further". By heaping praise on the Yadav chieftain, Modi was neither
walking down on his earlier attack on the former Uttar Pradesj chief
minister but was only "cosying up with him for potential floor
management in the Rajya Sabha", a party leader said sheepishly.
"Mulayam
Singh did a good thing in parliament so Modi-ji praised him. We
however, have ideological differences as a political entity," BJP
spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said. Asked if this could confuse its
traditional voters, he answered in the negative. "The people of UP are
wise enough. Every day Mulayam Singh is tearing into the government run
by his son....eventually the SP will be packed-off bag-and-baggage in
2017," Pathak told IANS.
Samajwadi spokesman and cabinet minister Rajendra Chowdhary saw it is an "individual reference" and "nothing beyond (that)".
While
one would have to wait for some time to see if the bonhomie was a
'one-night political stand' or a long-term political strategy, for now,
Modi has succeeded in stirring up the rumour mills in Uttar Pradesh.
(Mohit Dubey can be contacted at [email protected])