Many praise Akhilesh, but not all may vote for him

visited in Central UP, Bundelkhand and Faizabad-ayodhya, those who rave about Akhilesh’s work and say they will vote for his Samajwadi Party are predominantly Yadavs and Muslims.

Brahmins, Vaishyas, Thakurs, Rajputs, Shakya-kushwahas,koeris,dhobis,mallahs and even Jatavs, all may agree that Akhilesh has brought in development, that he is a “good man,” but that may not translate into avoteforsamajwadiparty.instead,manyof them say they will vote for the Samajwadi Partycandidateonlyiftheythinkhewilldeliver on local needs and expectations.

It is a nuanced difference but a vital one. In effect, it means that all Akhilesh has achieved after his very public spat with the partyoldguard,andrebrandinghimself,isto dent the anti-incumbency among his core voters.ontheground,thereislittleevidence to show that he has been able to swing the fence-sitters to his side in any significant way.

So a 26-year-old Ishan Bajpayee in Kanpur says he admires the work done by Akhileshandisimpressedbyhisdynamism. But the young hotel management graduate and cruise bike enthusiast doesn’t like the SP-BSP’S “consistent Muslim pitch.” He says he will vote for the BJP.

In a gathering at Mahoba town’s dhaba in Bundelkhand, Ashish Tiwari, 23, is all for SP and Akhilesh’s leadership. He says, “Of the 100 ponds in this region, 52 are in Mahoba. This is all because of Akhilesh. All the people are voting for him.”

Sitting near him is Jageshwar Chaurasia who says with a smirk: “Don’t ask him. He has coloured glasses on his eyes. He has recently got a laptop from Akhilesh.”

He adds that people in the constituency will vote on the basis of the candidate. “The Bspcandidatehasnotworkedforthepeople otherwisehewouldhavebeeninagoodposition. There are a lot of Jatavs in this area. The fight is between SP and BJP.”

Bhagwandas Rajput, 60, from Panchpehra village in the constituency interjectsandsaysthatallnon-yadavobcsare going with the BJP.

Theonlypersonsupportingtiwari’snarrative is Asif Ansari who says he was playing cricket in the region’s ponds until a few years before Akhilesh came and they are now filled with water.

At an Etawah tea shop, a Lodh Rajput voter says that it used to take more than threehourstoreachkanpurbutnowittakes just over two due to the roads built by Akhilesh.jeetendrayadavsaysthat’swhyall are voting for SP and despite the family feud the party will win. But when Yadav leaves, Rajputsaysthathiscommunityhasdecided to vote for the BJP.

A blacktop road now connects Jatavs in Naoli village and Kushwahas and Koeris in Adda with the main road. It has been built recently. But Jatavs say that they are going with Mayawati, for she gave them self-respect,whilekoerisandkushwahassaythey will vote for SP as the local candidate “has been good” to them.

In Bareilly’s Khempura village, Mausam Khan is very happy with Akhilesh but will vote for BSP as the SP MLA in the constituencydoesnotlistentothevillagers.“you see, I can’t reach Akhilesh. It’s the local candidate who will get my work done.”

In Jhansi, Mohd Sadiq says, “Jitna kaam abhi hua utna to pehle kabhi nahi hua.” But he will vote for BSP as he feels the SP candidate is weak and voting for him will be a waste.“whatevermuslimvotesgotospwill bebecauseofakhilesh’sreputation,”hesays.

One thing stark in these conversations is that people are voting for or against SP irrespective of their opinion of Akhilesh Yadav. It also exposes the limitation of the politics of development when politics is riven so deepbycastefaultlines,wherearoadmaybe 1000kmlongbutifitdoesn’ttouchavillage, it’s of no use to those who live there.

It also tells something about the politics ofpatronageperfectedbypoliticalpartiesin states such as UP and Bihar. It is this that is pushing those out of favour towards other parties. Bhola Singh Rajput in Etawah says, “In this region, all contracts, employment and benefits go to Yadavs. Earlier, we had no option so we would keep voting for them. But now we see the BJP as a real challenger.”

Despite his best efforts, Akhilesh Yadav has not been able to shed the gunda tag off his party. It has sustained so long that it is seen as ingrained in the culture of the party which cannot be shed merely by pushing out certain infamous leaders.

“Wherever they are, they keep bullying others. Akhilesh is good and shows promise.butheisnothere.heisinlucknowwhile his partymen go on the rampage here. He can’t control every small local leader,” says Suraj Singh Rajput of Babina in Bundelkhand.

People in Banda point out the case of Bsp’snaseemuddinsiddiquiwhoeveryone agrees has done the most for the town. Still, during the BSP’S best performance in 2007, the party lost the seat to Congress. It lost it again in 2012. “That was because his family membersbecamelocalgundasintownand frittered away all the goodwill he had earned,”sayssachinsrivastav,ataxidriverin Banda.

In Bihar’s once greatly cynical politics, Lalu Yadav often said that his people had no usefordevelopment.hissocialengineering, personal charisma and politics of identity kept him in power for 15 long years. After Nitish Kumar replaced him, law and order was restored and roads were built after two decades in Bihar. Villages began to light up during the night, Patna got a new shine and it was safe to venture out. But after two terms, Bihar’s “Vikas Purush” had to hold Lalu’s hand to sail through in the polls.

Isakhileshfacingthesamedespitecombiningthepoliticsofnitishandjayalalithaa? An SP office bearer in Saifai told The Indian Express:“akhileshbhaiyaishereforthelong haul. Even if we lose this election, we are going to be back soon. He is bringing in a new politics which is in tune with the times.” Whether that time is now is the question.