BSP in 2002
Tilak, Tarazu aur Talwar,
Inko maaro jutey chaar

BSP in 2007
Tilak, Tarazu aur Talwar,
Inko pujo barambaar

In Uttar Pradesh, it is the slogan that spawns the spin. Who can understand and explain this better than the Bahujan Samaj Party’s one-woman army, Mayawati, who has retained the feet (Dalit) and attempts to co-opt the head (Brahmin)? On June 9, 2005, the heads that numbered five lakh at a Brahmin rally of the BSP looked up at her in utter disbelief as she shouted, “Haathi (BSP symbol) nahin Ganesh hain, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh hain.” The rally marked the transition from an ideological high ground: Jitni jinki sankhya bhari, Utni unki hissedari (Bigger share in power for the numerically stronger), to a more pragmatic, Jitni jiski taiyyari, Utni uski hissedari (Bigger share for the better prepared).

It was in 2002 that Mayawati’s strategy to expand her agenda to embrace the high castes took shape, but it was the timing that made a success of the Brahmin rallies she conducted across the state. From being a traditional Congress supporter, the Brahmin voter in Uttar Pradesh found better identification with the emergence of BJP, but the disillusionment began and sustained with the rise of Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh. During Rajnath Singh’s tenure, the Thakurs dominated to such an extent that even other parties fielded them.

Mayawati, the fiery opponent of what she defined as Manuwadi, first relented on her caste exclusivity when she appointed Satish Chandra Mishra, a Brahmin, as the state advocate-general in 2002. He is now a key player in her campaign along with Brijesh Pathak, the BSP’s deputy leader of the Lok Sabha.

... contd.