With by-elections results in Uttar Pradesh going in favour of Mayawati?s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), round one of the renewed battle for leadership of the Dalit cause in the state has gone to the BSP. But the gradual emergence of the D-factor as a significant player in the next Lok Sabha polls, has forced the ruling parties, both at the Centre and the state, to vie hard to corner a chunk of the Dalit pie.
Rahul Gandhi has pulled all stops to wean back the Dalits, traditionally a Congress votebank, into the grand old party?s fold once again, what with his frequent visits to Dalit homes, living and eating with them, sharing their problems. He has also frequently attacked Mayawati for only mouthing platitudes for Dalits, who, he said, were actually feeling ??cheated?? in UP.
Mayawati, on the other hand, makes it a point not to let go any opportunity to ridicule the Congress and its ??prince??. Even while addressing election rallies during the campaign for the by-elections, Mayawati had lampooned Rahul Gandhi for his new Dalit love, describing it as a ?mere natak?.
After the results, a jubiliant Mayawati had all the more reason to spew venom on the Congress, stating that the people had seen through the party?s ??fake?? love for the Dalits and had, therefore, rejected it completely.
It is significant to note that the Rahul?s long list of halts at Dalit homes all over the country has its genesis in UP, where he, for the first time, halted at Ram Sahay Kori, a Dalit?s home in Amethi in January this year. It was after this visit, which created quite a flutter, that Rahul repeated the act in village after village in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bundelkhand and many other places, making Mayawati shaky about her traditional core base.
Though BSP has been attempting to broaden its appeal in the caste-ridden political fabric of the country in a bid to emerge a frontrunner in the race for power, Mayawati is in no mood to relinquish her hold on her traditional support base.
The fact that the D-factor continues to be a wildcard in Indian politics and more specifically in UP has been proved by the fact that the constituency, today, has many claimants. To make her pledge of becoming the first Dalit PM in the country come true, Mayawati will do all that takes to keep the centuries-old hurt of the Dalit populace simmer. That way, when it comes to voting, the Dalits would turn to the Dalit ki beti, instead of the ??anti-Dalit?? party that she makes out the Congress to be.