Our June 1995 cover

Uttar Pradesh, best known for chaotic governance, fragmented politics, a musical chairs-style coalition and criminal politicians, has given its clearest verdict in 16 years. The last time there was a clear majority for any party in Uttar Pradesh was when the BJP won a majority in 1991, a year before the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

In the old days the Congress used to reign supreme on the back of the tina (There Is No Alternative) factor. Since the dawn of coalitions in 1996, anti-incumbency has become the most significant factor in the elections. Few governments can deliver in the face of high expectations and huge problems. Corrupt governance adds a further multiplier to the anti-incumbency wave.

All that apart, Mayawati’s strategy for these elections was well-thought out and carefully executed. Gone was the Mayawati of old, the hectoring Dalit leader full of an anti-Brahmin tirade. In its place was an astute tactician who campaigned on the inclusive slogan of sarvavarna and wooed not just her Dalit vote bank but also Brahmins and Muslims. As other parties squabbled, the BSP was sure who it wanted to field in the elections and these included an unprecedented 86 Brahmin candidates. It was almost as if the BSP had become the new Congress in its open wooing of all sections and castes. The old Congress, though, has only slipped further in the state, its poster boy Rahul Gandhi notwithstanding.

Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party (SP) remained stuck in time warp depending on its Yadav/Muslim vote bank and failed to sense the changing mood. These results are also a clear rejection of goonda raj and the rise of criminality and lawlessness in the state, something the Mulayam Singh Government seemed not to notice. The SP’s open support of tainted MLAs was seen as a total contrast to Mayawati’s crusade to put known criminal politicians behind bars.

Our cover story this week is the inside story of how Mayawati was able to fashion her party’s conquest out of Uttar Pradesh’s muddied and turbulent political scene.

Mayawati has proved that she has mastered the art of winning elections in a divided state. This is the fourth time she will be sworn in as Chief Minister, but the first time without partners. Hopefully, she has learnt some lessons from her previous tenures and will deliver to the 160 million people of the state the kind of governance that a backward and impoverished state like Uttar Pradesh needs.

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