The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Cash crunch in SP home turf, BJP puts up brave face, confident of poll gains
CHAI PE CHARCHA, the ubiquitous discussion over tea that defined the election campaign of his party leader Narendra Modi more than two years ago, is not the same any more for Rajesh Kumar Balmiki.
At Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, the backyard of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, in an office space that doubles up as a garage for his SUV, Balmiki hosts guests, potential voters and party workers through the day. And, every time the chairs around this local BJP leader’s table fill up, Balmiki orders tea. Then, he peels off a slip of paper from a wad, scrawls “2 cups chai”, before signing it and noting the date.
Since the Centre’s November 8 order to withdraw high-value currency notes, Balmiki, who is also the UP president of BJP’S Akhil Bhartiya Safai Mazdoor Sangh, has had to make “adjustments”. “It is a small price to pay,” he says quickly. “Mainpuri is a smaller town, so cash comes a little late, so I make do with this system.”
With Assembly elections around the corner, it is the same story across UP, even for the ruling SP. At the same time, Balmiki is confident of victory. In 2002 and 2007, the BJP had won the Mainpuri seat, one of four assembly seats in the district. In 2012, the seat went to the SP.
“We are the only competition against the SP’S Yadav votebank here. Since the rise of the SP, only thebjphaswonseatsinmainpuri. This time, with the surgical strike and demonetisation, we are confident of a victory. What the Opposition refers to as notebandi (note ban) will end black money in the country. We will all benefit. The full campaign will start as soon as things normalise in a few days,” says Balmiki.
In the SP camp, meanwhile, the mood is one of defiance. “We are totally unaffected by this notebandi business. We only dealt with cheques before and we are still operating that way. We even pay for tea in bulk through cheques,” says an officebearer at the SP’S district party headquarters, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But a walk around Mainpuri belies the SP claim. Posters extolling party supremo Mulayam Singh and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav are months old, most thanking the duo for developmental projects inaugurated last year. Smaller posters on lamp posts and walls are paper printouts. The latest banner advertisements in Mainpuri are the ones erected by the BJP earlier this month to publicise and thank the party top brass for the Parivartan Rally of November 15.
Like Balmiki, the SP leader grudgingly admits to a dip in campaigning. “We have not ordered any new posters this month. But there is a lot of time. This is our bastion, we can start our campaign anytime and win hands down,” he claims.
According to an employee at JVS posters outlet on Mainpuri’s station road, the flex printing business has nosedived since November 14. “The BJP was the last to order largescale posters for the Parivartan Rally, nobody has come to us after that. Our business is down by about 85 per cent,” he says.
In Mainpuri’s five printing shops, a 10x15-ft poster costs at least Rs 3,000, including printing, scaffolding support and labour. And credit can only go so far.
It is not only the currency crunch that has the SP worried here but the bitter Yadav family feud playing out in the neighbouring towns of Karhal and Saifi. The drama — primarily between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal — played out for more than a month starting September. Then, the CM stripped his uncle of his Cabinet portfolios hours after Mulayam removed Akhilesh as the state party chief and appointed Shivpal instead.
The feud continues and has left the party cadre in Mainpuri district confused. “There have been many changes over the last two months and we are not sure whose directions to follow at this point,” says another SP leader.
SP’S Karhal MLA Sobaran Singh Yadav believes the feud has not affected the party machinery. “This is all within the family. It has been sorted now and everything is back to normal,” he claims.
But a grassroots worker is not so sure. “We don’t know the message to take to the people. Obviously, there is the CM’S development work over five years, but we are not so sure about the demonetisation except that it is disrupting normal life,” he says.
Obviously, the Yadav spat has buoyed the BJP’S spirit in Mainpuri.“alongwithlocalissues of unemployment, poor rail connectivity and bad roads, this family fight will cost the SP dearly,” says Vishal Singh, a BJP leader.
The public statements by senior SP leaders has tarnished the party’s image, he says. “When the party supremo, the CM and their extended family continuously make contradictory statements, it sends a bad message. This works to our advantage,” Vishal Singh claims.
According to MLA Sobaran Singh, demonetisation is a bigger issue. “The common man has been hit, farmers are suffering and life has come to a standstill,” he says.
He is not far from the truth. At oneofmainpuri’sbiggestprinters, Jai Ma Durga printers, an employee says he has been watching movies on his computer the whole day. “The last job we got from the SP was last week. They have installed a new balloon, bought from Lucknow, near the party HQ and there was a spelling mistake. Mainpuri was misspelled. We printed a sticker with the right spelling and stuck it on the balloon,” he says.