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WILL FORTUNE FAVOUR MAYAWATI IN ANDHRA PRADESH?
BSP'S NEW DALIT MANTRA IN AP
By M H Ahsan
HYDERABAD: Even as the possibility of Chiranjeevi entering politics hangs like the sword of Damocles over the heads of the Congress and TDP, the move by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to woo the Dalits in AP has added a new twist to state politics in the New Year.
BSP chief and UP CM Mayawati would be holding a meeting at the Nizam College Grounds on Sunday and some leaders, including suspended TRS leader A Narendra, are expected to join. Mayawati's gamble has set the political circles abuzz, with the foremost question being whether her renewed attempt to establish a BSP base in AP succeed.
The BSP made its first foray into AP in 1994 assembly polls when it contested several seats. But it was routed and lost its deposit in all but two seats. A decade later (2004) it made another attempt and managed to wrest one assembly seat - Paderu in Visakhapatnam. So, will Mayawati be lucky a third time?
Many believe the time is ripe for consolidation of Dalits in AP. "There is a clear need for a political alternative among the oppressed sections which is the result of a decade-long massive self-respect movement by them," says activist professor S Simhadri of Osmania University.
"OBCs, SCs, STs and minorities are fed up with the excessive promotion of casteism by the Reddy and Kamma governments. At this juncture, Mayawati, an emerging leader for the downtrodden and who is growing stronger on the national level, certainly gives hope to them," he told HNN .
But he cautioned that much depended on how she played her cards and, equally important, the Chiranjeevi factor remained to be resolved. "What impact the BSP would have in polls would depend a lot on whether Chiranjeevi is in the fray or not," he said.
But there are others who do not see success for the BSP in AP. "Caste-based parties stand less chances to succeed in AP because both the Congress and TDP, even though branded as Reddy and Kamma parties respectively, have been practising accommodative politics. So, mass migration of OBCs, SCs, STs and minorities to BSP may not happen," says Prof K C Suri of the political science department of HCU.
Also, the chance of a leader from the north to make a dent in a southern state was an issue to be pondered over, analysts averred. But BSP state chief N Suryaprakash exuded confidence.
He said in the given level of political awareness, it did not matter much whether the party had any big leaders or not. There was also talk of BSP tying up with Chiranjeevi, if the actor takes the plunge. "Any tie-up with the actor's proposed party would eclipse the social objective of Mayawati," an OBC leader said.
But for now, Mayawati's attempt to enter AP has triggered an eager anticipation of consolidation among the oppressed classes. And the Congress and TDP have every reason to be apprehensive as Dalits comprise 16.2 per cent of the state population, STs about 6.6 per cent and OBCs between 35 to 45 per cent.
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