05-09-2007, 05:19 AM
On UP campaign trail
The rise and rise of BJP
By Ravi Shankar Prasad
There has been three fundamental premises along which the entire politics and the campaign have proceeded forward in Uttar Pradesh, i.e.
1. Casteism vs. development,
2. Crime & criminalisation vs. development
3. Appeasement/rank minorityism vs. national security and nationalism.
The people of the state of Uttar Pradesh has been in the forefront of the campaign and the need to make a resurgent, dynamic and strong India drawing sustenance from its cultural heritage.
The campaign of BJP is well organised, where apart from its top leaders Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee and Shri Lal Krishna Advani all other national and state leaders have thrown their might. Naturally, the BJP is neither a single-leader party nor a single-family party. The Sangh Parivar is also completely united and consolidated.
The most exciting news of the UP election is the phoenix-like rise of BJP and it is curious to understand the perception particularly of the media about the BJP. Hardly a couple of months ago, when, as the national spokesperson of the party, I used to interact with them daily, their response was that BJP would be lucky if it reaches somewhere 40-50 seats in the Vidhan Sabha.
When the first round of election started, the reaction was, you may cross 70-75 and now the same âmedia peopleâ are commenting that the BJP would certainly cross 100-110 seats. The most interesting thing happened in a leading English channel NDTV on the exit poll of the first day of polling. I was invited on their show and they predicted that the BJP would get 50-60 seats. I strongly protested that ground reality is completely different and the result would be beyond imagination.
On the second phase of polling, the same channel conducted the exit poll again and I was present in the programme. Based upon their feedback the channel predicted that the BJP is likely to get 95-100 seats, I laughed and said that in between the first and second round of polling the channel has doubled the projection for the BJP and there are five more phases to go.
In fact, the signals in favour of BJP were emanating repeatedly but the so-called observers were either deliberately ignoring them or were unable to read it. The extra-ordinary success in the last local bodiesâ election in UP had already given a hint as to how the people of the state of Uttar Pradesh were viewing the whole situation. This coupled with the success in Punjab and Uttarakhand has created additional factors favourable to the BJP and enthused its rank and file. The organisational toning up, which had been going on for the last more than a year in every assembly constituency, had further strengthened and consolidated the organisational structure at the Panchayat level.
In fact, there has been three fundamental premises along which the entire politics and the campaign have proceeded forward in Uttar Pradesh, i.e. 1. casteism vs. development, 2. crime & criminalisation vs. development and 3. appeasement/rank minorityism vs. national security and nationalism. The people of the state have been in the forefront of the campaign and the need to make a resurgent, dynamic and strong India drawing sustenance from its cultural heritage. Yes, casteism led to aberration including its resultant political fallout. However, once the people saw its divisive effect they realised that the things are going too far, more particularly when they realised that the whole campaign of social justice of the SP and the BSP was nothing but a facade for family autocratic rule. Coupled with this was the naked and patent appeasement in which all the political parties except the BJP unabashedly indulged into.
One glaring instance is enough to demonstrate the political hypocrisy of the SP, the BSP, the Congress, Left and whatever is left of Ajit Singhâs party. The role of notorious SIMI in overtly and covertly supporting the bomb blasts in Mumbai, Delhi, Varanasi, Bangalore and in train in UP is well known leading to the killings of many innocent people. In a shameful conduct, purely for votes, the government of Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav declared publicly that it will not implement the ban against SIMI in Uttar Pradesh. It went further and withdrew the cases pending against SIMI activists in bomb blasts and other anti-national cases pending in some courts in Uttar Pradesh. It is to be noted that except the BJP not a single political party even spoke against this blasphemy seriously impinging upon national security. There can be no greater example than this of what can appropriately be called a copy book case of âperverted secularismâ. The same chorus was witnessed on the issue of pardon against the capital punishment to Afjal Guru, the mastermind in the attack on the Indian Parliament. These larger issues in their own way have sought to provoke a great sense of outrage among the people in the state besides the country. Therefore, the resurgent support in favour of the BJP.
All the talk of development that the SP would make UP a âUttam Pradeshâ has turned out to be the biggest farce. Criminals and mafia syndicate patronised openly by the SP and in many cases by the BSP have come to occupy a vice-like grip over the state. The common people live in fear and constant misery while the terrorists have a free run because they and their patrons know that in UP action against terrorism is tradable for votes. It is in this context that comparisons are being made. Between the three regimes of Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ms. Mayawati and Shri Kalyan Singh and the difference when there is a BJP government. The fact that the BJP national president Shri Rajnath Singh is from Uttar Pradesh and is campaigning consistently for the last two months has made its own impact. The campaign of BJP is well organised, where apart from its top leaders Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee and Shri Lal Krishna Advani all other national and state leaders have thrown their might. Naturally, the BJP is neither a single-leader party nor a single-family party. The Sangh Parivar is also completely united and consolidated. The united resurgent face of the BJP is getting a very positive response from the people.
I saw it myself when as in charge of 65 assembly seats in western UP. I was travelling extensively in those areas. There was an unexpected under current. There is every indication of a very serious erosion of Samajwadi Party and donât be surprise if Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav gives the worst performance of his career. The Congress in spite of all the game of roadshow by Rahul Gandhi would remain a very marginal player. The BSP has overrun itself to exhaustion very early.
The fact that BJP is important and needs to be checked is evident from the shameful manner in which most of the non-BJP parties sought to gang up against it before the Election Commission seeking its de-recognition. In spite of the fact that the alleged CD was not authorised and was directed not to be distributed at all, these pseudo-secular parties including the Congress, the BSP, the Jan Morcha, the CPI, the CPM and the SP demanded that the BJP be de-recognised. In fact, there was also a one-upmanship among them as to who approached the Election Commission first against the BJP.
All this paranoia itself shows their desperation. They know they cannot defeat the BJP on the ground because the people are with the party, hence, the resorting to extra-legal means but they will fail here as well. The rath of BJP is unstoppable and the results are not only going to be surprising but would lead to the beginning of the end of the unholy UPA as well.
(The writer is national spokesperson, BJP.)
The rise and rise of BJP
By Ravi Shankar Prasad
There has been three fundamental premises along which the entire politics and the campaign have proceeded forward in Uttar Pradesh, i.e.
1. Casteism vs. development,
2. Crime & criminalisation vs. development
3. Appeasement/rank minorityism vs. national security and nationalism.
The people of the state of Uttar Pradesh has been in the forefront of the campaign and the need to make a resurgent, dynamic and strong India drawing sustenance from its cultural heritage.
The campaign of BJP is well organised, where apart from its top leaders Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee and Shri Lal Krishna Advani all other national and state leaders have thrown their might. Naturally, the BJP is neither a single-leader party nor a single-family party. The Sangh Parivar is also completely united and consolidated.
The most exciting news of the UP election is the phoenix-like rise of BJP and it is curious to understand the perception particularly of the media about the BJP. Hardly a couple of months ago, when, as the national spokesperson of the party, I used to interact with them daily, their response was that BJP would be lucky if it reaches somewhere 40-50 seats in the Vidhan Sabha.
When the first round of election started, the reaction was, you may cross 70-75 and now the same âmedia peopleâ are commenting that the BJP would certainly cross 100-110 seats. The most interesting thing happened in a leading English channel NDTV on the exit poll of the first day of polling. I was invited on their show and they predicted that the BJP would get 50-60 seats. I strongly protested that ground reality is completely different and the result would be beyond imagination.
On the second phase of polling, the same channel conducted the exit poll again and I was present in the programme. Based upon their feedback the channel predicted that the BJP is likely to get 95-100 seats, I laughed and said that in between the first and second round of polling the channel has doubled the projection for the BJP and there are five more phases to go.
In fact, the signals in favour of BJP were emanating repeatedly but the so-called observers were either deliberately ignoring them or were unable to read it. The extra-ordinary success in the last local bodiesâ election in UP had already given a hint as to how the people of the state of Uttar Pradesh were viewing the whole situation. This coupled with the success in Punjab and Uttarakhand has created additional factors favourable to the BJP and enthused its rank and file. The organisational toning up, which had been going on for the last more than a year in every assembly constituency, had further strengthened and consolidated the organisational structure at the Panchayat level.
In fact, there has been three fundamental premises along which the entire politics and the campaign have proceeded forward in Uttar Pradesh, i.e. 1. casteism vs. development, 2. crime & criminalisation vs. development and 3. appeasement/rank minorityism vs. national security and nationalism. The people of the state have been in the forefront of the campaign and the need to make a resurgent, dynamic and strong India drawing sustenance from its cultural heritage. Yes, casteism led to aberration including its resultant political fallout. However, once the people saw its divisive effect they realised that the things are going too far, more particularly when they realised that the whole campaign of social justice of the SP and the BSP was nothing but a facade for family autocratic rule. Coupled with this was the naked and patent appeasement in which all the political parties except the BJP unabashedly indulged into.
One glaring instance is enough to demonstrate the political hypocrisy of the SP, the BSP, the Congress, Left and whatever is left of Ajit Singhâs party. The role of notorious SIMI in overtly and covertly supporting the bomb blasts in Mumbai, Delhi, Varanasi, Bangalore and in train in UP is well known leading to the killings of many innocent people. In a shameful conduct, purely for votes, the government of Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav declared publicly that it will not implement the ban against SIMI in Uttar Pradesh. It went further and withdrew the cases pending against SIMI activists in bomb blasts and other anti-national cases pending in some courts in Uttar Pradesh. It is to be noted that except the BJP not a single political party even spoke against this blasphemy seriously impinging upon national security. There can be no greater example than this of what can appropriately be called a copy book case of âperverted secularismâ. The same chorus was witnessed on the issue of pardon against the capital punishment to Afjal Guru, the mastermind in the attack on the Indian Parliament. These larger issues in their own way have sought to provoke a great sense of outrage among the people in the state besides the country. Therefore, the resurgent support in favour of the BJP.
All the talk of development that the SP would make UP a âUttam Pradeshâ has turned out to be the biggest farce. Criminals and mafia syndicate patronised openly by the SP and in many cases by the BSP have come to occupy a vice-like grip over the state. The common people live in fear and constant misery while the terrorists have a free run because they and their patrons know that in UP action against terrorism is tradable for votes. It is in this context that comparisons are being made. Between the three regimes of Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ms. Mayawati and Shri Kalyan Singh and the difference when there is a BJP government. The fact that the BJP national president Shri Rajnath Singh is from Uttar Pradesh and is campaigning consistently for the last two months has made its own impact. The campaign of BJP is well organised, where apart from its top leaders Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee and Shri Lal Krishna Advani all other national and state leaders have thrown their might. Naturally, the BJP is neither a single-leader party nor a single-family party. The Sangh Parivar is also completely united and consolidated. The united resurgent face of the BJP is getting a very positive response from the people.
I saw it myself when as in charge of 65 assembly seats in western UP. I was travelling extensively in those areas. There was an unexpected under current. There is every indication of a very serious erosion of Samajwadi Party and donât be surprise if Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav gives the worst performance of his career. The Congress in spite of all the game of roadshow by Rahul Gandhi would remain a very marginal player. The BSP has overrun itself to exhaustion very early.
The fact that BJP is important and needs to be checked is evident from the shameful manner in which most of the non-BJP parties sought to gang up against it before the Election Commission seeking its de-recognition. In spite of the fact that the alleged CD was not authorised and was directed not to be distributed at all, these pseudo-secular parties including the Congress, the BSP, the Jan Morcha, the CPI, the CPM and the SP demanded that the BJP be de-recognised. In fact, there was also a one-upmanship among them as to who approached the Election Commission first against the BJP.
All this paranoia itself shows their desperation. They know they cannot defeat the BJP on the ground because the people are with the party, hence, the resorting to extra-legal means but they will fail here as well. The rath of BJP is unstoppable and the results are not only going to be surprising but would lead to the beginning of the end of the unholy UPA as well.
(The writer is national spokesperson, BJP.)