QED-SP merger, Maurya quitting BSP: UP's political drama has just begun

The monsoon may yet be some days away from Lucknow, but the pre-monsoon showers have already arrived; politically, that is.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are due in February next year, but the pre-poll developments are coming in thick and fast. One day, it’s about notorious Don Mukhtar Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal’s (QED) merger with the Samajwadi Party (SP); and about the BSP legislature party leader Swami Prasad Maurya’s resignation the next.

If that was not enough, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav dropped senior minister Balram Yadav from his Cabinet, as he had arranged the QED merger without keeping the CM in the loop.

The drama has just begun. The CM is pitted against his uncle Shivpal Yadav, and possibly even against his father and party president, Mulayam Singh Yadav. Shivpal claims that he had taken the permission of the national party president for the QED event. Akhilesh, however, pretended that he was not informed, and hence dropped Balram Yadav. Mulayam is reported to have taken umbrage at his ‘friend’ Balram Yadav’s unceremonious exit.

It’s not easy to make sense of these development without being aware of the past events, and also their background.

Akhilesh feels that he is the lone shining armour, untainted and pro-development leader in a party often accused of unleashing “goondaraj”, every time it gets chance to rule in UP. That is why he successfully stalled the entry of notorious criminal DP Yadav into his party on the eve of the 2012 Assembly elections. Voters lay faith in Akhilesh’s belief, and made him the chief minister.

But, during the last four-and-a-half years with Akhilesh in the saddle, there has been no let up in the ‘goondaism’. There have been riots almost every other month. Yet, Akhilesh wants to show that his slate is clean by opposing Mukhtar Ansari’s entry into SP. But, his opposition does raise a few pertinent questions.

First, was he really kept out of the loop on the QED merger, or is it simply public posturing? The speculation has already been there in the local media for quite some time now. QED leaders too were in Lucknow, meeting SP leaders for the past three days. Also, the CM gets an intelligence report every day on possible political developments in the state, besides regular feedback from party colleagues. Akhilesh’s opposition to QED would lead one to believe that either it is posturing or that he is living inside an insulated cocoon.

In a demonstration of his ‘fake’ anger, he dropped minister Balram Yadav from the Cabinet. But, the grapevine is that Balram wanted a ticket for his son, this time around. It was Akhilesh’s way of killing two birds with one stone. Anyway, the matter will be sorted out amicably by the weekend.

The next question is that why did Swami Prasad Maurya, Leader of Opposition in the UP Assembly and BSP’s national general secretary, resign from his party? What is the underlying political motive behind this move, for nobody resigns from the BSP, everybody is simply thrown out.

Maurya, in his post-resignation statement, accused Mayawati of all the evils in the world, like “auctioning of tickets for the Assembly election”. But, that has always been the case. Why was his conscience hit, after 16-17 years of staying in the BSP?

Mayawati might be right to some extent in saying that Maurya was aggrieved because she had denied tickets to his son and daughter this time. All three had contested the last time. If Maurya’s allegations are true, he should also reveal how much he paid in the past to secure the tickets for himself and his children.

Actually, Maurya was feeling increasingly sidelined, what with Mayawati delegating major responsibilities to others. He was always on the tenterhooks after his fellow caste leader Babu Singh Kushwaha, known to be one of the closest leaders to Mayawati, was thrown out prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Kushwaha has been in the wilderness since his exit. Another Maurya (Keshav) has been appointed as state president of the BJP. That limited Maurya’s options.

On Wednesday morning, Maurya met SP stalwarts Shivpal Singh, Mulayam Singh And Akhilesh Yadav, before announcing his resignation. The road forward is clear. It’s only a matter of days before Swami joins the SP.

Whether he will be inducted in Akhilesh’s cabinet remains to be seen because, for that, he will have to resign his Assembly seat. But, what the heck; the Assembly elections are barely seven months away, and he can enjoy his minister-ship without being an MLA for six months.

Yes, this is just the first act. There will be many more party-hoppings with every monsoon shower. A lot more melodrama. Many more tear-rolling leaders. And many more surprises. But, haven’t these acts ceased to surprise us already!