Before Maya’s ‘Aage Badho’ rally, social engineering on display at BSP camp

On the eve of Mayawati’s ‘Sawdhan Raho Aage Badho’ rally on Tuesday in Lucknow’s Ambedkar Udyan...

On the eve of Mayawati’s ‘Sawdhan Raho Aage Badho’ rally on Tuesday in Lucknow’s Ambedkar Udyan, over 10,000-odd BSP workers from across the country are already here. Settled in tents on the banks of the river Gomti, divided as per the states they are from, the workers, in different accents, some struggling with Hindi, confess to the same dream: of one day ruling Delhi.

They are unanimous that the dream will come to pass, that one day the BSP will replace others in the national politics as it is the only party that is growing as others stagnate.

There is a contingent from Madhya Pradesh —- in strongest numbers, reflective of the party’s growing presence in the state —- and Maharashtra. But workers are here to hear Mayawati from Himachal Pradesh as well as distant Kerala.

Story continues below this ad

After the BSP supremo took over the reins of Uttar Pradesh, she had told her partymen that there was no room for complacency and that preparations should start for the 2009 general election. Today, when elections appear to be around the corner, the presence of BSP workers from across the country in Lucknow should be a shot in the arm for her.

The hand of Mayawati’s close lieutenant S C Mishra is apparent at the Madhya Pradesh tent, which has the maximum workers. BSP leader Tribhuwan Tewari is here, as is Dinesh Pratap Singh — evidence that Mayawati’s social engineering experiment is hitting the right keys in the state.

The importance the BSP attaches to Madhya Pradesh is also evident from the number of senior party leaders dropping in at this tent. The party’s national vice-president, Rajaram, has been a constant presence, talking about the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections, while BSP ministers visiting the camp also make it a point to stop by.

In the Maharashtra camp there are a large number of Dalits, but the presence of Gautam Patil and Prahlad Deshmukh even surprises state unit president Vilas Garood.

Story continues below this ad

Kerala BSP vice-president Advocate Prahladan is even more thrilled, leading some “elite” Namboodiri Brahmins as part of the 95 from his state to the camp. He is confident the BSP will enter the Assembly this time. “The BJP may be a national party but we will be the first one other than the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Left Democratic Front (LDF) to make a place in Kerala politics,” he said. Last week, the unit got a further boost when the Janata Dal (Secular) merged with it.

But the biggest delegation from the south is from Tamil Nadu, and it is led by Periyaar Aanban, the chairman of the Vellore district Panchayat Board. Pointing out that the BSP has several corporators in the state’s municipal bodies at present, he is optimistic the situation will improve in the coming elections.

Dr Gundeep Kumar, who has come from Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, says the party will win at least two Lok Sabha seats in the Assembly elections in the state next year. Leading a team of 150 to the camp, Kumar noted that the BSP already has five legislators in the House and the eye is now on the Lok Sabha.

Every seat in the Lok Sabha, each one of the BSP workers tells you, takes Mayawati one step closer to the Prime Minister’s chair.