Ignore history talk, Rahul their ‘future’

“Uttar Pradesh is out of tune with the new age. But Rahul Gandhi is the hope. He can connect with youths and know their aspirations.”

“Uttar Pradesh is out of tune with the new age. But Rahul Gandhi is the hope. He can connect with youths and know their aspirations.” Jitendra Singh’s words would be music to Rahul’s ears. He came to Rahul’s Bareilly rally despite his hectic schedule as a DJ-cum-light and sound artiste and listened to each and every word of how the latter’s “family divided Pakistan”. Jitendra’s Rajput family has been supporters of the BJP, but “may favour” the Congress now.

Jitendra had started off five years ago, targeting only marriages as his market. “But now there are more corporate programmes than I can handle,” he says. Riding the growth story of Bareilly and other small towns of UP, he is not bothered about Rahul’s utterances on Pakistan or Babri Masjid. “Politicians have compulsions to do some posturing also. What matters is his vision. We are sick of parties that talk only caste or the BJP that talks only religion,” he says.

Rahul’s grand talks of casteless, development-oriented politics in the seemingly fragmented UP polity is not really out of time or out of place. With caste parties struggling to sustain themselves and a gradually expanding middle class, time is perhaps just ripe to pitch for a cosmopolitan social base. “Caste parties have peaked and they can only come down now. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi’s theme is just in time,” says AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh.

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Nearly two-decade old state’s political turbulence cannot possibly get any worse. In this election, there are six national parties, 12 state parties and 97 registered unrecognised parties in the fray besides 2,158 Independents. Though new parties are being launched for different segments, each one is trying to reach out to a wider audience. “Caste politics as it has been known so far has begun to decline. Every party realises that it cannot win UP on an exclusive platform. The BSP’s attempts to woo Brahmins are a clear indication of it,” says Sudha Pai, political science professor at JNU.

Congress campaign in the state claims that things were better during its regime and the state’s decline is only because of caste and communal politics is simplistic and ignores the dynamics of village caste system. Rahul’s refrain in every meeting that “UP was number one in all spheres when we were ruling” could not be true for Dalits and backwards who were at best unequal participants in power under Congress regimes. However, the upper caste predominance in the Congress is not a concern for youngsters among Dalits and backwards either. Their concerns could match more with those of Jitendra. “Congress rule is a thing of the distant past. Only the older generation remembers it,” points out Prof Pai.

Rahul says he has a plan to take care of aspirations of all. “We are not going to stop with this election,” he says.