Look who’s talking

The changed political equations in the wake of the trust vote, which turned longstanding political alignments upside down, were apparent at Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s funeral. Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh came early and sat in a corner. They were practically ignored by their old comrades from the Left. It was Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party men Prem Gupta and Jai Prakash Yadav who kept them company. The Communist leaders, greeted Sonia Gandhi respectfully, but did not go beyond that.

Mayawati was accompanied by her lieutenant, S K Mishra. The BSP’s newest recruit Shahid Siddiqui placed himself immediately next to Mayawati, but he was soon shooed away by Mishra, who made it clear to Siddiqui that the culture of the Congress, a party to which Siddiqui once belonged, is very different from that of the BSP. Newcomers cannot stick to Mayawati for a photo opportunity and to curry favour. There is a definite hierarchy in the BSP.

Sonia Gandhi made a regal entrance without looking to the left or right and sat in the centre of the dais. Mayawati seeing the Congress leader grab the prime position got up and sat next to her. Despite the political rivalry, the two women talked cordially to each other for several minutes.

Oil and water mix

One of the latest recruits to the UNPA is already having second thoughts. Before the trust vote, Ajit Singh was wooed arduously by the BJP, Mayawati and Congress-SP combine, not just because of the votes of the RLD MPs but because Jat vote can tilt the balance in western UP in the general elections. Surprisingly, Ajit opted for Mayawati. Perhaps his logic was that by allying with UP’s star vote catcher he would benefit the most. Charan Singh’s son forgot the deep-rooted animosity between Dalits and Jats in the region. Till a few years back, Dalits were not even allowed to cast their vote. There is an angry backlash in Ajit’s own biradiri. Jats have not forgotten that Mayawati intimidated farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait into withdrawing his remarks against her just a short while back.

... contd.