UP Election: Will BSP’s Localised Campaigning Pay Off?

Kisan Yatra. Khat par Charcha. Vikas Rath Yatra. Parivartan Rally. Uttar Pradesh is the battleground that has everyone’s attention. So what if election dates haven’t been announced? Four major political parties – Samajwadi Party (SP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) and Congress – have already charged into action. The decades-old political tradition of yatras and raths have already started rolling out. This is the first stage of the campaign for the state, which is the golden snitch in the Quidditch of Indian election game. Here’s how each party has strategised to win over the voter in UP in the country’s biggest assembly election.

Congress 

They might be far behind the other parties in terms of electoral capital, but Congress was the first to hit the road. Surprisingly, Congress put up a grand show with its Deoria-to-Delhi Kisan Rally. The party’s new electoral strategist Prashant Kishor succeeded in drawing large enough crowds over the month-long cavalcades led by senior party leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, and its chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit. Rahul’s khat par charcha was widely covered by the media – specifically after people ran away with the khats (cots) once the gathering was over. Was it just hilarious mismanagement or a brilliant publicity campaign? The jury’s out.     

Kisan rally

Veteran journalist Gyanendra Sharma told Newslaundry, “… these rallies were organised as they wanted to make their presence felt in UP politics and send a message that they aren’t dead yet.” The word on the street is that the Congress campaign isn’t as much aimed at winning UP’s state elections, but also part of the process of laying the ground for the 2019 general elections.

 Samajwadi Party

Currently in power is SP, which has recently been in the news because of its inter-party squabbles. Despite all that chaos, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav went ahead with his Vikas Rath Yatra (The Chariot of Progress) on November 3. One of the goals of his 60-kilometer long journey was to interact with the youth of the state. SP Spokesperson Mohammad Shahid told Newslaundry that Yadav was seeking “deeper penetration” into the youth. He also said the party received “double response than it had expected” to this rally, despite the Mercedes Benz rath breaking down a kilometer into the trip.

SP is yet to finalise its campaign schedule, but from the Vikas Rath Yatra it’s clear that they’re going with the belief that bigger is better. The message is that the party is opposed to communal forces that threaten to tear the state apart. There have been speculations about alliances, but party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has dismissed them. “Aane wale time mein Netaji ki badi rallyan hogi (In coming days you will see big rallies of Netaji),” Shahid promised.  

Bharatiya Janata Party

The BJP has already started its 50-day long Parivartan Yatra (The Rally for Change). It set off from four different parts of the vast state – Saharanpur, Jhansi, Ballia and Sonbhadra – and the four streams will converge at Lucknow on December 24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address a rally there.

In western UP alone, the BJP is likely to hold gatherings in over 100 constituencies. BJP leader Brajesh Pathak told Newslaundry, “Big rallies send a strong message to the public.” He added that the rallies were seeing good turnouts.  “If it continues at this rate, we [BJP] will form the government,” said Pathak. The rallies at Sonbhadra, Etah and Kairana saw big crowds and some of the party’s top leaders, such as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Sanjeev Balyan.

Amit Shah addressing Parivartan rally at Robertsganj in Sonbhadra

 Bahujan Samaj Party

In contrast to these shows of strength, BSP is following a different script. It has had five big rallies addressed by Mayawati – in Agra, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Saharanpur and Lucknow – and another big showing is planned for November 12. The party is planning to arrange one dozen special trains and more than one thousand vehicles to bring party supporters from across the state to Lucknow for this special day.

The general campaign strategy, however, is very different. BSP has decided to hold extensive campaigns in their respective constituencies.  

 “Our focus is on small jansabhas until the elections dates are declared,” said a highly-placed source in BSP. He further added, “Badi ralliyon mein har jagah ka aadmi nahi aa pata. choti choti rallyon mein har koi pahunchega, humari vichardhara humare aage ka kaam dekhega aur use prabhavit hoga” (Not everyone is able to reach the venue for the big rallies. But everyone can make it to the smaller rallies and can listen to our ideas and policies).”

“BSP is traditionally a cadre-based party. It is the party’s strategy that local leaders stay in touch with voters. The focus is to engage people in personal interaction,” Lucknow-based senior journalist Deepak Gidwani told Newslaundry. According to party insiders, the BSP has appointed 282 coordinators to look after campaigning for 403 assembly seats. Each assembly seat has been divided into 30 sectors. Five to six of them have been clubbed together to hold one meeting or rally. “We are likely to hold over 2,000 such political gathering in entire UP before the main election campaign kicks off,” one BSP worker told Newslaundry, requesting anonymity.

Unlike the other parties, BSP is actively staying away from the media for now, barring the recent press conference that Mayawati held. 

Gidwani believes “the era of large rallies has phased out” and he emphasised that local leaders and booth level workers would make the real difference during elections. “The real strength of political parties should be analysed only once the tickets are distributed,” said Gyanendra Sharma. “People are yet to make their mind, whom will they support.”