New Delhi: While the fourth phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh’s seven-phase election takes place on Thursday, no clear winner seems to have emerged, and there is already speculation of a hung Assembly.
Lack of clarity also seemed to be forcing the BJP top leadership to raise the electoral pitch once again. On Wednesday, BJP chief, Mr Amit Shah linked the rival outfits with the 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab.
“The people of Uttar Pradesh will rid themselves of this KASAB in this election. Don’t try to infer something else from me saying KASAB. By KASAB I mean: ‘Ka’ for Congress, ‘Sa’ for Samajwadi Party and ‘Ba’ for Bahujan Samaj Party,” Mr Shah said in Hindi.
Responding to Mr Shah’s Kasab remark, senior Congress leader, Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “BJP needs to end these acronyms. The BJP’s repulsive thinking has come to the fore. It shows the party’s communal mindset.”
Some saffron leaders felt that in absence of a wave and a clear winner, the BJP “will have to play out all its cards to secure an electoral victory in UP.”
Though the BJP, the SP-Congress and the BSP have been claiming to emerge as the single largest party, in reality leaders of all parties are tensed. None of them seemed to be certain of a clear victory. The BJP has gambled on the non-Jatav vote banks and unleashed the hardcore Hindutva hawks to polarise the electorates. The SP-Congress, on the other hand, were counting on Muslim-Yadav consolidation and return of the upper caste vote bank to the Congress.
Fighting back for her political survival, BSP chief Ms Mayawati is trying desperately to consolidate the Dalit-Muslim vote bank in her favour.
Home minister, Mr Rajnath Singh while speaking to a TV channel during campaigning though made it clear that the BJP was “comfortably ahead” in the race. He said that the party would have “crossed 300 if SP-Congress did not come together.”
The home minister’s remark indicates that the alliance did manage to cause a dent in BJP’s prospects.
Meanwhile, despite talks of a hung assembly and fresh post-poll alliance BJP chief Amit Shah also ruled out any post-poll alliance with the BSP.
There have been speculations that in the absence of a clear mandate, both BJP and BSP could yet again join hands to form a government in UP.
