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Mulayam's son stands in for dad

Sharat Pradhan in Kannauj

Does Mulayam Singh Yadav plan to establish proxy rule over yet another parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh?

It appears so, going by the hectic campaign he has conducted for his only son, Akhilesh, the Samajwadi Party's nominee in the by-election for the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat in central Uttar Pradesh.

The Samajwadi Party chief had won this seat in the 1999 general election, but surrendered it for Sambhal, which too he contested and won.

Evidently, he had made up his mind then to let no one other than his own son succeed him from this historic place, known internationally for its perfume industry. He chose to declare his son his political heir though he lambasts the "dynastic rule" in other parties like the Congress.

Though he may have really toiled to convince his reluctant infotech-savvy son, an environment engineer by training, to shed his jeans and jacket for spotless white khadi kurta-pyjamas, the youngster's half-hearted plunge into politics caused a sensation.

Akhilesh was as silent during the campaign as his face on the posters, banners and buntings plastered all across the constituency. As a local politician from the rival Bahujan Samaj Party camp observed, "It appears to be a battle for Mulayam's prestige; no wonder he has exerted himself much more than he did for himself in the general election last year."

The 27-year-old young man looks lost while his 60-year-old father and master politician implores all and sundry to vote for his son. It is a Mulayam Singh show all the way. The Samajwadi Party chief goes about talking of local, national and even international issues, including the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Only at the end of the show does he introduce Akhilesh to the audience.

With a private helicopter at his disposal, Mulayam Singh hops from place to place, telling the electorate, "Mind you, it is because of my son that the attention of not only the national but also international media has been drawn to Kannauj." He also reminds the crowds, "You did not want me to leave this constituency. Therefore, I now wish to give my son to you; he will serve you."

Some sycophants draw comparisons between him and Lord Krishna. But Mulayam Singh himself prefers to target the BJP (forgetting that the BJP is not in the fray as the seat was left to the Loktantrik Congress Party). Whether it was Kargil, the hijacking or the CTBT issue, the Samajwadi Party chief systematically attacks the Vajpayee government.

"It is a matter of shame for the Vajpayee government to have allowed Pakistan to get away with all kinds of mischief," he tells his audience. And adds for good measure, "Pakistan had tried to play tricks even when I was defence minister, but we made it loud and clear to them that we would teach them the lesson of their life; so they kept quiet."

Mulayam Singh is particular about reminding his audience of his days in the defence ministry and how he spurned an offer of prime ministership. It is evident from his desperation that he knows that this election won't be a cakewalk for his son.

Yet, what the Samajwadi Party chief seems to be banking on is the caste factor, which could tilt the scales in his favour. Of the 1,155,570 voters in Kannauj, 167,758 are Yadavs, the second biggest community after the 174,355 Brahmins. Besides, there are 161,576 Thakur voters, 151,000 Lodhs and 109,699 of the scheduled castes. Both Muslims and Banias are much fewer, making barely five and three per cent of the population respectively.

Not so confident of getting Muslim support anymore, Yadav worked heavily on the Thakurs. His Man Friday, Amar Singh, was slogging day in and day out to woo the community. The Thakur electorate of Kannauj hardly considers Amar Singh a community vote-catcher but they don't deny the clout he wields because of his "money power". After all, if Mulayam could mobilise the combined support of the Thakurs and Yadavs, bound to vote en bloc for their sole messiah, his son would win hands down,

The fact that there was no Thakur candidate in the fray seemed to make the sail smoother for the Samajwadi Party.

Among the other strong contenders is Pratima Chaturvedi of the Loktantrik Congress Party, who was likely to rely on the BJP support there. Besides, there was Akbar Ahmad 'Dumpy ' of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Shaitan Singh 'Shakya' of Kalyan Singh's recently floated outfit, the Rashtriya Kranti Party. The Congress had put up the low-profile Satya Deo Tripathi, who is not considered a serious contender.

Like the SP, the LCP, the BSP and the RKP relied on the supporters in their castes. If LCP was hopeful of support from the Brahmins and Banias, the BSP was confident of enlisting the support of the Scheduled Castes and the Muslims. Meanwhile, Kalyan Singh was pretty sure that members of the Lodh community (to which he belongs) would not ditch him.

RKP nominee Shaitan Singh Shakya hoped to rope in the non-Yadav OBCs too.

"Ours was the only party which represents the downtrodden, so I am sure we will get their support too," he said. Considering that Kalyan Singh too was leaving no stone unturned at least to establish the presence of his new outfit, he could eat into the non-Yadav OBC vote that the BSP is targeting. But Kalyan's hopes could be dashed because his one-time aide sadhu Sakshi Maharaj moved to the Mulayam camp.

The saffron-clad swami's attack on Kalyan was bound to harm the RKP's prospects to some extent. Asked what had led him to leave his one-time political mentor, Sakshi Maharaj retorted, "Don't call him my mentor. Mind you, Kalyan should be indebted to me for his political stature." He went on to issue a warning, "If Kalyan does not stop making charges against me, all I will have to do is to take one trip to Aligarh and demolish him on his home ground."

Assembly Election 2000

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