intermediaries to dilute or obstruct the political message.

There is not much discussion around this yet, but as the BSP

introspects, its hankering for non-Dalit votes to hasten the march of the elephant to Delhi may have cost it some crucial core votes. The lack of enthusiasm to crown Mayawati as the next PM was most visible in her Dalit heartland, where Jatav and non-Jatav divisions have come to the fore, and in seats where she cynically placed Brahmin and Thakur candidates.

There is much to be done here, and not all of it can be framed in terms of just building roads, bridges or schools. The political and governance pitch will have to marry these things imaginatively with a visible push for symbols of social cohesion, if the promise of the Congress umbrella is not to be frittered away. UP may not have appeared the barometer it was earlier over the past 20 years, but before this, the giant state has given ample evidence of delivering shockers — in 1971 the Congress had 73 of the total 78 seats, in the next election it drew a blank; from 83 seats in 1984, it came down to 15 in 1989. In other words, nothing in UP can be taken for granted.

seema.chishti@expressindia.com