The Bahujan Samaj Party’s decision to paint Lucknow blue (the party’s colour) on Monday — the 25th anniversary of the party’s founding and also, coincidentally, founder Kanshi Ram’s birthday — is cause for both celebration and consternation. Celebration, because the one thing Mayawati has certainly done is given Dalits a sense of pride and identity.
There is also consternation because enormous sums —from Rs20 crore to Rs200 crore — are being talked about as the true cost of the jamboree. Even assuming the sums are being exaggerated, this is not the kind of money a poor state like Uttar Pradesh should be spending on a birthday party.
There is nothing wrong with the celebration itself, for no one has done more to augment Dalit pride and self-confidence as Mayawati — apart from Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. She has, very cleverly, used herself as an example of how Dalits can make good in a hostile environment. To become chief minister four times on her own terms is no mean achievement. Many did not understand that her statue-building spree was part of the exercise to boost Dalit pride.
But this is where her challenge really begins. However inspiring her efforts to bring confidence to the downtrodden, she will ultimately be judged by how she delivers on the economic and human development front. The fact remains that she has failed substantially when it comes to these deliverables. UP remains backward on most human development factors and, sadly, Mayawati’s government has done little to change this reality.
The contrast to her neighbour Bihar is stark, where the Nitish Kumar government has worked hard to bring change to the state. This is what makes the BSP’s Lucknow rally something of a criminal waste of money. It is also an attempt to deflect attention from the real failures of her government. As her opponents have pointed out, the ongoing riots in Bareilly need more attention from a chief minister than addressing a political rally.
Sadly, past record shows that Mayawati has not managed to fully grasp that shift in political winds. Voters — including the ones in her state, and the castes that traditionally vote for her party — are looking for leaders who deliver real results and not just an esoteric sense of empowerment. They want less politics, and more governance.
In the 26th year of the BSP, Mayawati will serve her Dalit cause better if she now concentrates on development, social upliftment and improving the basic indices of human life rather than getting bogged down in rhetoric and symbolism.
Comments