Congress poaching OBC leaders from SP to win votes

Uttar Pradesh is many states in one. What holds true for one region, does not work in the adjoining one. That is why the politics of the most populous state has always been dictated by caste combinations rather than issues. Congress party, trying to regain its hold in the state, is banking on Muslims and other backward castes (OBCs) to at least double the number of seats it won in the last assembly elections — 22. But then OBCs — above Dalits and below the upper caste (Thakurs and Brahmins) in the cast hierarchy — are not seen as Congress loyalists. To make inroads in a territory Congress has not charted before, the party has poached OBC leaders, mainly from Samajwadi Party (SP). [caption id=“attachment_214065” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Women voters display their identity cards as they wait to cast their votes at a polling station, during the 3rd phase of UP assembly polls, in Allahabad on Wednesday. PTI”]  [/caption] Most prominent of them all is Beni Prasad Verma, SP rebel. Verma belongs to the Kurmi community, which has 20,000 voters in 95 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. Kurmis form five percent of Uttar Pradesh’s population. Around 10 percent of OBCs in Uttar Pradesh are Kurmis. Verma has picked many former SP leaders as Congress candidates. It is said that many Congress men did not like the idea of giving Verma a free hand in selecting candidates. But Verma is the Congress’ bet to woo the Kurmis, sidelined by Yadav domination. He can tilt the Kurmi vote in state’s eastern belt which comprises districts such as Gonda, Bahraich, Barabanki and Shrawasti. Muslims, making 18 percent of Uttar Pradesh, are the capital ‘m’ of Raul Gandhi’s ‘magic’. Magic, it will be if Gandhi’s attempts to woo the community translate into votes. There are more than 20 percent Muslims in constituencies falling in Azamgarh, Lucknow and Faizabad belt. Post Babri Masjid demolition, the community deserted Congress for Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav). Mulayam became a hate figure when he embraced BJP stalwart Kalyan Singh. SP has tried to undo the damage by divorcing Kalyan Singh and re-inducting Azam Khan. Going by the feelers from Muslim dominated areas in Uttar Pradesh, it appears that the community will not vote en masse. Over the years, the community has started believing that the Congress has a pseudo-Muslim approach. “The single biggest party which has done damage to Muslims is Congress. The condition of Muslims noted by Sachar Committee report is the result of Congress policies,” said Dr Shahid Badr Falahi, former president of banned organisation, SIMI. In the last two months, there have been instances when the number of people at Rahul Gandhi’s rally has outnumbered those who came to get a glimpse of Behenji (Mayawati). “Rahul Gandhi is a celebrity. People coming to see him does not necessarily mean that they will vote for him,” said Dr Azfar Faizan, principal, Shibli National Post graduate college, Azamgarh. The party has imported former SP leader Rasheed Masood, a jat-Muslim, who has a strong presence in western Uttar Pradesh. The party has a national leader in union law minister Salman Khurshid. In places like Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where citizens are disgruntled with Congress double-speak, SP is the best option as Netaji is perceived to be a leader thinking for Muslims. In rest of the state, secular Muslim votes for Congress and OBCs choose Bahujan Samaj Party. “She thinks for us like no one else,” said Mohammad Idrees Khan, OBC voter from Varanasi. Congress’ announcement of carving out a sub-quota for Muslims within the quota for the OBCs is perceived as an act of charity rather than welfare. “We want what is our right. We will not accept anything from someone else’s share, said Dr Maulana Ashraf Kachouchavi, leader of All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board. The fact remains that Congress needs Muslims more than the Muslims need Congress. Most Backward Classes or MBCs completes the Congress’ caste cauldron in Uttar Pradesh. MBCs feel cheated in Behenji’s raj. “Nothing has changed for Dalits on ground. They feel at par with the society as the lady in power, is one of them. But it ends there. In terms of development and basic amenities, nothing has changed for them, said Bhaskar Guha Niyogi, a social worker in Varanasi. A Congress worker in Gorakhpur said that the city police would file FIR in any case but those involving Dalits. “That is what this chief minister has given the people who once hesitated sitting on our cots,” he said. To cash this dissatisfaction, Congress has given tickets to candidates from the Rajbhar, Prajapati, Vishwakarma, Maurya and Kushwaha communities. All in all, the Congress is being realistic by not living in the illusion of emerging as a majority party. The idea is to add to the numbers it had in last assembly election.  Whether the Congress got it right or wrong, will be known on 6 March.