Before the 2015 Bihar assembly elections, Yadav’s chiefs, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav, had assembled a rickety grand alliance, which collapsed long before the elections were held.
Its political tremors were felt in the northern belt of India.
The two neighboring states, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, account for 120 of Lok Sabha’s 543 seats and their alliance could have provided an umbrella of high resistance to their trusted Muslim and backward districts, mostly Yadavs, who were increasingly concerned about the BJPs. growing strength under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The third regional satrap, the head of BSP Mayawati, had not joined the grand alliance, but kept her options open. She was desperate to expand the Bahujan Samaj Party base outside of Uttar Pradesh.
Ironically, UP-Bihar leaders have been testing each other’s territories, either as saboteurs or as allies, while Bihar consistently rejected the political adventures of Mulayam and Mayawati despite the considerable population of Yadav and Dalit in the state. , Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav. and Ram Vilas Paswan also failed to make headway at UP.
Even the Bharatiya Janata Party, despite active local leadership and organization, deployed UP leaders, especially in the eastern part of the state, famous for ‘roti-beti ka rishta’. It is common for Bihar families to find boyfriends in UP and vice versa or to establish lucrative businesses here.
Up to 48 assembly constituencies in seven districts of Bihar share boundaries with the eastern districts of UP, namely West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Bhojpur, Buxar and Kaimur.
UP Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh are the star activists, both from eastern UP. Yogi has already launched an intensive campaign that draws huge crowds. It is expected to target 35 demonstrations.
In the past also the BJP had sent Kalraj Misra (Brahmin) and Manoj Sinha (Bhumihar) to Bihar to campaign, again from eastern UP. They are now the governors of Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, respectively.
Also read: He gave 15 years each to Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, time for change: Mayawati
A BJP spokesperson recalled how in July 2019, the BJP high command had surprised many by nominating the six-time MLA Phagu Chauhan from Ghosi in eastern UP as governor of Bihar. Experts then said that, among other things, Chauhan was chosen to appease the Lohia Chauhan, a backward community with a sizeable presence in Bihar.
Veteran leader Shivanand Tewari is watching the elections with interest, saying: “Large crowds are filling the public gatherings in Tejashwi. According to him, the UP prime minister may not have much influence on voters, as the Ram temple is now a reality and not a voting issue. Even Mayawati has influence in limited pockets. It is a direct fight that leaves no political space for smaller groups, ”added Tewari.
Another political analyst, Abhay Kumar Singh, considered that Congress should have sent some Brahmin leaders of the UP to campaign in Bihar. As for the Yogi and Rajnath Singh rallies, he said, it is just an effort by the BJP to present a galaxy of national leaders in the absence of strong local leadership.
See: ‘When Bihar’s Jaw Was Martyred, What Was Prime Minister Modi Doing?’: Rahul Gandhi
However, long before the elections, the national chairman of the Samajwadi party, Akhilesh Yadav, decided not to contest the polls in Bihar. Tejashwi and Akhilesh are friends. Recently, Lalu’s eldest son, Tej Pratap Yadav and Akhilesh, went on a tour of Etawah Safari.
The collapse of the grand alliance did not sour the relationship between the country’s highest Yadav leaders and their families, even after their sons took over the party amid the family drama.
Akhilesh has often explained the party’s decision to stay away from the Bihar polls as the party has no presence in the state and that they would not want to weaken the anti-BJP forces.
Akhilesh announced his support for RJD and its leader Tejashwi Yadav.
SP had first entered Bihar in 1995, three years after Lalu Prasad Yadav stopped LK Advani’s Somnath at Ayodhya rath yatra right on the UP-Bihar border, disrupting Mulayam’s game plan to stop rath yatra in UP before he reached the temple city.
Both Lalu and Mulayam were then chief ministers of their respective states.
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The former was closer to the late Janata Dal leader VP Singh, who somehow had animosity towards Mulayam. Both were chasing minority votes. SP won two seats in its first election in 1995 and then in 2005.
For the sake of records, in the 2015 Bihar elections, the SP contested 135 seats, lost its deposits by 134, and obtained just 1.01 percent of the vote.
The argument of some experts that the voters actually vented their anger at Mulayam for leaving the grand alliance at the crucial juncture did not hold up, as even in 2010, SP had contested 146 seats, lost the deposit in all and obtained just the 0.55 percent of the vote.
However, Mayawati continues to pursue her Bihar dream and has formed an alliance with smaller parties for the upcoming elections.
Mayawati also had her best taste in 2005 by winning two seats. The percentage of votes has ranged between 2 and 5 percent. While the BSP is contesting 80 seats, the other allies, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party is contesting 104, AIMIM 24, Samajwadi Janata Dal 25, and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and the Janwadi Socialist Party are contesting 5 each.
Here is your record. BSP had lost deposits in 225 of the 228 seats contested in 2015, garnering 2.07 percent of the vote. The party’s luck was no better in 2010 when it obtained 3.21 percent of the vote, losing deposits in 236 of the 239 seats contested.
Nitish Kumar’s two political letters, EBC (Extremely Backward Castes) and Mahadalits, had left no political space for Mayawati to capitalize on. The vote of sympathy from a section of the Dalits can go with Ram Vilas Paswan’s party.
Despite her stature, Mayawati has also lost much of her political spark. She plans to hold five demonstrations in one state, which has been virtually assaulted by BJP leaders, Prime Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav.
The question is not how many seats would your party win or play a spoiler, but will you open your account? However, his larger plan is to get enough votes to maintain his party’s national status.
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