UNMESH GUJARATHI
SPROUTS BRAND STORY
Mayawati tacitly supports BJP victory in UP elections… Although the BJP repeated victory in UP assembly elections by winning 273 out of 403 seats, it lost 52 seats compared to 2017 polls since this election was not an easy affair for the Hindutva party.
The BJP played both religion and caste cards in Uttar Pradesh to woo the voters. Once a strong woman of UP, BSP chief Mayawati had amassed the unaccounted wealth of crores of rupees in her tenure and as such fell into the trap of Central agencies like ED, CBI and Income Tax. The BJP continued to threaten her with raids and silenced her. That is the reason Mayawati joined hands with the BJP secretly and reigned the galloping horse of the Samajwadi Party.
Caste politics plays a major role in Uttar Pradesh politics. Nearly four crore (20 percent) voters are Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. They are decision makers in nearly 107 seats of Uttar Pradesh. Once the SP had hold over all these Muslim dominated constituencies. But this time the BSP played a major role in damaging the citadels of the SP and supported the BJP.
BJP did not field a single Muslim candidate in his election. As against this, the BSP fielded 77 Muslim candidates and the SP 61 fielded Muslim candidates. Eventually the SP lost its Muslim votes in the cross-voting and the victory of BJP became easy. The BSP fielded Muslim candidates in 28 constituencies considered the stronghold of the SP. Not only this, the BJP also provided financial assistance to these candidates. Naturally the SP candidates were defeated.
Mayawati fielded weak candidates opposite the BJP candidates and made their victory easy. The MIM was also in the fray. In any case it has a tacit understanding with the BJP in the country. The strength of the MIM in Uttar Pradesh is insignificant. The MIM contested 103 seats. The MIM did not secure many votes, but it did create a non-conducive atmosphere for the SP, cut into its votes and ensured BJP’s victory.
