Most leaders felt that the attack on the Mayawati government over the issue of statues suits her political interest. Recently, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had called the construction of memorials and statues “shameful”.

Party insiders say it has not been easy for Mayawati to express her open allegiance to scheduled caste voters since her party is in power because of the Sarvjan formula. “So, the issue of memorials has given her an opportunity to show her allegiance to the schedule caste voters once again,” a source said.

Mayawati’s renewed bid to keep her Dalit vote intact is also evident from her recent decision to provide for a quota in government projects for the contractors from the SC and ST communities.