In a clear departure from the past, and facing one of the toughest electoral battles in her political career, BSP chief Mayawati has decided to hit the campaign trail much ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls next year. The first phase of BSP's campaign will be flagged off at a massive rally by the Dalit czarina in Agra on Sunday, from the same venue where Narendra Modi launched his UP campaign in the run up to 2014 general elections.
In this first phase of electoral blitzkrieg, Mayawati in the next one month will be addressing three more rallies- one every week- in different zones of the state. The Agra show of strength will be followed by a rally each at Azamgarh, Allahabad and Saharapur.
Party general secretary and BSP's Muslim face, Nasimuddin Siddiqui, will be in charge of this first phase of campaign. Preparations are on at full swing, BSP is hoping to draw in huge crowds- at least five-lakh people by party estimates- at each of this show of strength.
All the four venues have been carefully chosen and allude towards caste and religious combinations BSP seems to be working on for UP-2017. The first of the four rallies is in Agra, a division which has a substantial Dalit and Muslim population. It is this Dalit--Muslim or DM combination BSP seems to relying on this time around to end its exile from power. The DM factor would be at play at other three venues as well.
Mayawati's in the just concluded monsoon session of parliament took a belligerent stance against the ruling BJP for failing to rein in cow vigilantes across the country. Taking the battle to Prime Minister Modi's home state, she had raked-up the public flogging of dalits in Gujarat on the first day of the session. As the session progressed, she fine-tuned her political line accusing the government of the day for failing to prevent violence against Dalits and Muslims.
This twin-pronged strategy is aimed both at stemming attrition in its own ranks and mobilising Muslims to challenge the BJP. The saffron brigade has been for some time now attempting to wean away a section of the BSP core dalit votes- especially non-Jatav communities.
BSP's ticket distribution so far also alludes towards Mayawati's DM-gambit. In what is being seen by many as a do-or-die battle for the party, BSP is likely to allocate a big chunk of tickets to Muslims in assembly polls next year. It is expected that tentatively one out of every four candidate for 403 assembly segment will be from the minority community.
For example, take the case of Bijnor district in western-UP. Of the 8 assembly segments in the district, BSP had fielded 5 Muslims candidates as compared to 4 by the rival SP. Dalits and Muslims in some areas adjoining capital Delhi together constitute almost half the total electorate, making it a formidable combination at the ballot.
BSP this election has also scaled down its reliance on upper-caste or Brahmin votes which the party feels could be divided among multiple claimants in the field. With Congress openly playing the upper-caste card for its revival in UP, it would be difficult for the BSP to project itself as the first choice for this segment of the electorate.
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