Dayashankar out, BJP vexed, but prostitute barb gives Mayawati few gains

Dayashankar Singh who till a day ago thought himself to be a rising political star in Uttar Pradesh and a headline maker, is on the run. It’s only a matter of time when he is arrested and put behind bars.[caption id=“attachment_2905320” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] BSP supremo Mayawati. PTI[/caption] But in committing his own political harakiri by comparing Mayawati with a prostitute, he gave the BSP chief a huge emotive handle to beat the party he belonged, the BJP. His one single despicable statement halted Mayawati’s sliding political career and immensely boosted her campaign. By consequence he effectively bombed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah’s consciously cultivated and sustained dailt outreach program. A buoyant BJP was suddenly put on the defensive but still all of it may not be lost to the BJP. Five things are important enough to be considered: First, the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election is still six months away and it might prove to be difficult for Mayawati to sustain the anger among her supportive social constituents and rank and file of the BSP for that long and translate them all into votes. Much water would flow till then in the Ganga, Yamuna, Saryu, et al. Her challenge is to keep the anger among her supporters going till February-March 2017. The size of BSP’s protest rally held on Thursday at Hazratganj in Lucknow though appeared to be huge and spirited on television screens but was not very enthusing for seasoned BSP leaders and those who have covered party’s track for past several years. In fact a person who was present at this protest march said by the time BSP leader Nasimuddin Siddiqui who led the protest march, announced that they would continue to be on indefinite dharna till Dayashankar is arrested, the crowd had already started disintegrating. In earlier times, a protest rally by BSP would have brought Lucknow to a standstill but today it didn’t match same BSP standards. Second, the BJP sacked Dayashankar and thrown him out of the party within two hours of the news break. Senior party leaders including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley immediately apologised to Mayawati in Rajya Sabha and told the House that tough action would be taken against the party leader concerned. A swift action by the BJP let out much of the steam from the rising anger of BSP mass. Dayashankar, a Rajput from eastern UP who till yesterday, was one of 15 vice-presidents in UP BJP, appointed to the post less than a month ago, has now become a political untouchable within his erstwhile party and outside. Third, a prompt and clear directions was given from the Akhilesh Yadav government that FIR be registered at BSP’s behest and police teams be formed, raids with due publicity be conducted to arrest a disgraced Dayashankar. The former BJP leader now has only two options, get arrested or surrender. Fourth, when the current controversy storm blows over, the BJP would go on offensive with its Dailt outreach programme. Though it does not need to name the BSP chief but counter narrative would be put forth. The abusive language used for Dayashankar’s mother, sister and daughter is also being talked about but the political parties are desisting from making a comment on that. Use of excessively foul language against sacked and ousted BJP leader may become counterproductive for BSP beyond its core dalit voter segment. Fifth, Mayawati’s megalomaniac reference about self, claiming that she was not just bahenji (sister) for her supporters but was a living goddess for them, may not be taken kindly by the people in the long run. She kept on referring about herself in second person as a four time UP chief minister, bahenji, goddess and so on: “When BJP Uttar Pradesh unit vice-president used most foul word against four-time chief minister, national president of Bahujan Samaj Party, MP for several terms in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, universal Bahenji and whom poorer people supportive of her party and elsewhere treat as goddess, the outpouring of anger was only natural. “Can anyone get away after using foul language against gods and goddesses? How people would feel about that? I couldn’t contain people’s anger and it was reflected in Lucknow, at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and elsewhere in country……” Under the circumstances, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally in Gorakhpur on Friday and Amit Shah’s rally in Agra on 31 July where he will share dais with Buddhist monks led by 87-year-old Dhamma Viriyo becomes very significant. While Modi is going to Gorakhpur to announce that his government has met very important demands of people of the region – establishing an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and re-opening of fertiliser plant which was closed over two decades ago, it would be keenly watched if he has something to say on Mayawati’s insult. In January, during the peak of Rohith Vemula suicide issue, Modi had given an emotional tribute to departed dalit scholar and his family while participating in a function at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow. Gorakhpur is a BJP and Mahant Adityanath stronghold. The party will try to have good number of dalits in the audience for Modi’s rally. Shah’s Agra rally in any case is part of BJP’s dalit outreach programme. Talking to Firstpost, one of BJP’s dalit face and party spokesperson Vijay Sonkar Shastri said, “The party has set an example by promptly sacking Dayashankar Singh from whatever posts he held and expelling him from the party. No party has ever shown that kind of sternness for using foul words against leader of another party. Did Congress take any action against Rita Bahuguna Joshi who used far worse words? Did Samajwadi Party take any action against those involved in Mayawati’s alleged chirharan in Lucknow Guest House episode?” Shastri went on citing instances where leaders of other parties were involved and inaction of their respective parties. In July 2009 when Mayawati was in power in the state, then UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi had made an insensitive remark questioning Mayawati if money (compensation to rape victims) was all what mattered to the victims, then women would have to ask her (Mayawati) how she herself would feel if she was given Rs 1 crore as compensation for rape. The issue had its own share of controversy but no election was scheduled nearby. This time around, the election is simply too close.