Votes & trivia

Kalyan Singh,in the end,played to expectation and quit the BJP on Tuesday. Once,in the 90s,he was the architect of the partys grand Hindutva-OBC coalition in Uttar Pradesh,netting the party more than 60 per cent of the 80-odd Lok Sabha seats in the state. Today,his empire is circumscribed by familial ties. His exit comes amidst rumours that he had been dissatisfied with the seat given him by the BJP for the forthcoming general election,and after a public offer by Mulayam Singh Yadav to nominate his son to the constituency of his choice. Meanwhile,from UPs capital city,Lucknow,a most unexpected debate has been begun on feminism and public life. Sanjay Dutt,paraded through the city as the SPs Lok Sabha candidate,has asserted himself to be Sunil Dutts rightful legatee,saying a woman should change her family name upon marriage. The allusion crudely,abominably and regressively made is to the impression that his sister,Congress MP Priya Dutt,is unhappy with his political affiliation. In the meanwhile,there are rumours that the Congress is agreeable to disgraced cricketer Azharuddins overture that hed like to contest a prestigious seat.

Campaign season is always exciting for the controversies and clashes of personalities it brings. Political parties have always thrived on this,looking for any colour to keep the undecided voter interested. Yet there is a thin line which appears to be crossed this time,dragging our politics to trivialisation. When the Congress and the SP facetiously spar over the family tree of the Dutt family to settle deeper issues on seat-sharing,it shows a refusal to learn the recent lessons of UP politics. When the BJP calls the bluff on one of its fading leaders but is unable to go the logical next step of bringing coherence to its state unit,it signals cluelessness.

From UP to Karnataka,Delhi to Madhya Pradesh,Mizoram to Jammu and Kashmir,assembly elections in the last couple of years have shown the voters disdain for irrelevant issues and candidatures. Elections,at the state level,are now unambiguous,with the voter making plainly evident the mandate for a stable government. There is now enough correlation between strong state-level leadership and electoral endorsement. As in 2004,this time too the result may be as much a sum of state-level verdicts as it is

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a reflection of the national mood. Either way,UP and Andhra Pradesh,with the latter likely to have a concurrent assembly election,will be key to determining

the centre of gravity in the next Lok Sabha. Yet,the BJP and Congress choose to be caught up in a parade of trivia.