As the battle between the Congress and the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party intensifies in Uttar Pradesh, it is the Samajwadi Party and the BJP that are gradually getting elbowed out of the political arena.
The Congress, which lacks an organisational structure in UP, has managed to position itself as the main challenger to the ruling BSP.
The manner in which Congress MP Rahul Gandhi went to the violence-ridden villages of Bhatta Parsaul in Greater Noida, staged a dharna, got arrested and then took a delegation of farmers to meet the PM, has catapulted the party to the political centrestage.
Mr Gandhi maintained the pitch when he declared in Varanasi that he would now fight from every village in UP and then went on to say, “Just you watch what I do now.” Mrs Sonia Gandhi, contrary to her temperament, used rather harsh words to describe the state of affairs in UP. She said that incidents in Bhatta Parsaul had “shamed” the nation and UP was reduced to the status of “andher nagari”. With this posture, the Congress high command has made it amply clear that they not only understand the plight of the poor but are also willing to work with them from ground zero.
The SP and the BJP, meanwhile, have faltered on an issue that now threatens to emerge as a major poll issue for the next elections in UP.
Leaders of SP and BJP parties went to Bhatta Parsaul with much fanfare. Their programme was announced well in advance through press releases and they returned from outside the village after courting arrest and happily posing for snapshots. In short, their reaction was restricted to paying lip service to the farmers. Mr Gandhi, on the other hand, proved that he meant business when he hoodwinked the state government and reached the village where he staged a dharna.
The BSP, since it came to power in May 2007, has studiously ignored the SP, which is the main Opposition, and has repeatedly attacked the Congress, giving an impression that it faced its biggest challenge from the Congress.