Nine months, four alliances and scores of accusations. The much-publicised Peace Party in Uttar Pradesh is apparently going to pieces even before the elections begin.
The party that claimed to change the direction of state politics in 2011 is now looking for a direction for itself in the state.
The Peace Party had ranked number two in by-elections in Dumariaganj and Lakhimpur in 2011, forcing all political parties to take note of it. The media hailed the party as the next best thing to have happened in Uttar Pradesh and its president Dr Ayub was hailed as the new political marker on the map.
Apparently, blinded by the praise and euphoria, the Peace Party leadership began making mistakes with a vengeance.
The party inducted heavyweight criminals like Akhilesh Singh (MLA from Rae Bareli) and Jitendra Singh Babloo (MLA from Faizabad) and succumbed to the lure of “winnable” candidates. In the process, it lost its USP of being a “clean” party.
To add to the confusion, the Peace Party also inducted former bureaucrats including former DGP Yashpal Singh, former IPS Rama Shankar Singh and former IAS S.P. Arya on board, turning it into a coffee shop for retired bureaucrats.
Then Dr Ayub started forging alliances without working out modalities.
The Peace Party first forged an alliance with Amar Singh’s Lok Manch which dissolved within weeks. Then it entered into a grand alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal and six other small parties. The alliance ended soon after the mandatory first press conference. The third alliance was with Apna Dal and Bundelkhand Congress but a week later, Dr Ayub opted for the fourth alliance with 11 parties, most of which exist only on paper. The alliance has now “expelled” the Peace Party for allegedly selling tickets for a price and inducting criminals.