Unnerved by the response to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra and Kisan Panchayat, the BSP is now reworking its strategy for the UP Assembly polls.
According to highly-placed sources, the party will now focus on issues and make a concerted effort to dilute the Congress campaign in UP. The party also proposes to reconstitute “bhaichara committee” to win over upper caste voters and put leaders with a clean image at the helm of these committees.
The BSP, apparently, is apprehensive that Mr Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra and kisan panchayat may give a boost to the Congress in western UP. If the Congress allies with the Rashtriya Lok Dal, it may even sweep the region. “Farmers have been treated shabbily by some of our officers in Tappal and Bhatta Parsaul but not to the extent that the Congress leaders have claimed. We have the intentions to repair the damage and reach out to farmers and not just make false promises,” said a senior BSP minister.
That the Mayawati government is focusing on farmers is evident from the fact that the state government has now announced one per cent rebate on interest charged on short-term agricultural loans up to `3 lakhs. It has also approved the MoU with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India for payment of annuity to farmers who are affected by the land acquisition.
An official press release said that the payment of annuity will be done as per the new land acquisition and rehabilitation policy announced by the Mayawati government last month. A farmer whose land has been acquired will get `23,000 annuity for 33 years with an increment of `800 per annum in addition to the compensation amount fixed by the government. The move is being seen as chief minister Mayawati’s bid to counter the Rahul impact.
To refurbish the party’s sagging image, Ms Mayawati has now asked all party coordinators to keep a close vigil on the activities of party legislators and inform her if they indulge in any malpractices. The chief minister is further reconstituting the bhaichara committee, replacing tainted leaders with those who have an impeccable image.
“Some of the leaders of bhaichara committees have been embroiled in controversies of late. We are replacing them with leaders who have a clean image so that they can bring in their communities,” the minister said.