Samajwadi Party has registered a thumping victory in 2012 UP Assembly elections by winning record 224 seats. This is the best performance by any political party since 1985. Mayawati is now out of power. Her party Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has managed to get only 80 seats. The Congress, which was hoping to do miracles after Rahul Gandhi’s extensive campaigning in 207 constituencies, has got only 28 seats. The BJP, also has very decimal performance with only 47 seats. Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh have already taken responsibility for the party’s flop show in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. The national parties failed to convince the voters that they are in a position to defeat Bahujan Samaj Party.
There is one good thing which I see is that with these poll results, the era of coalition politics gets virtually over in Uttar Pradesh because in last two elections, the UP people have given clear mandate. The election also saw the rise of powerful Yadava dynasty in Uttar Pradesh. It was evident from the fact that UP people don’t have any other strong option. The national parties, Congress and BJP failed to project local leadership and strong grass-root organization.
The BJP made a grave mistake by importing Uma Bharati from Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, the inclusion of Babu Singh Kushwaha in BJP, diluted its stand against corruption. Had it projected Rajnath Singh or Kalraj Mishra as the chief ministerial candidate, the results would have been much better for the saffron party. The national leaders like Rahul Gandhi or Uma Bharti can’t compete with local leaders like Akhilesh Yadav, who not only understands the ground reality but also connects with the local people. The national parties completely failed to understand the pulse of local politics and ultimately helped the return of Yadava dynasty in Uttar Pradesh.
As you can see BJP and Congress are on third and fourth positions with 47 and 28 seats, respectively. However, both parties were expecting three-digit results as a reward for the intensive campaign by both Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and BJP’s Hindutva firebrand Uma Bharati. For the first time, Congress has lost its two prime constituencies of Rae Bareli and Amethi and BJP has lost the Ayodhya assembly seat. The national parties couldn’t understand the ground realities and instead of promoting local leaders they imported star campaigners from Delhi.
If you see this election from national point of view, you will feel a clear anti-Congress and anti-corruption mood in the nation. No wonder, the Congress party is the biggest loser of 2012 elections. There are many local factors which have also affected the final results but one thing is clear now that people have rejected the politics of caste and communalism. Now Mandal and Kamandal have no place in UP’s politics. There are strong sentiments against corruption not only in devloped state like Goa but also poor, illiterate and backward Uttar Pradesh.
In the morning, BJP was all set for a huge tally in Uttar Pradesh. The party was all set to beat expectations with 90 of 403 seats. But the momentum slowed down and by 10.30 am and finally it got only 47 seats. I think, BJP lost a great opportunity. The people of UP are looking for positive alternative and BJP could have been this alternative. The moral of the story is, in UP both the national parties, who have actually become somewhat irrelevant, failed to convince the general voter that they could be powerful enough to replace Maywati.