According to insiders in the BSP, these, and other allegations against the main United Front constituent in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party, are contained in an appeal by the BSP to its voters for the assembly elections, which is likely to be released in Lucknow on August 26.
This appeal, by BSP general secretary Mayawati, slams the door on the Janata Dal, towards whom BSP president Kanshi Ram had been favourably disposed till recently. Ram had said in a statement in Kanpur a couple of days ago that the doors for the Dal for seat adjustments in the assembly elections were still open.
Some leaders in the Janata Dal and the Left parties were hoping that at the last moment, Ram would leave a few seats for them and agree for a friendly contest for the rest. However, the scathing criticism of the Dal and its allies makes it clear that that hope is dashed.
A scathing attack on BSP's bete noire, the Samajwadi Party and its president Mulayam Singh Yadav apart, the severe criticism of the Janata Dal in the appeal, running into several pages, is ostensibly aimed to stymie criticism of the Mayawati government by the United Front, for taking the support of the BJP for four-and-a-half months last year.
In the appeal, Mayawati traces in detail the growth of the BJP in the Lok Sabha from two MPs in 1984 to 87 in 1989 and 164 in 1996, asking the voters the reason for this growth. She points out that the Dal is responsible for the growth of communal forces as it had allied with the BJP in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections. The chapter on communalism deals in detail on the BSP's plans to fight not only the BJP but also the parties responsible for its growth.
The BSP leader also emphasises that the Janata Dal is virtually non-existent in UP as most of its leaders had deserted the party, many of them doing so to join the BSP.
In contrast, the BSP gives a clean chit to its new ally, the Congress, on issues like communalism and social change. Till a few months ago, both Ram and Mayawati had called the Congress the A team of Manuvad. The SP remains the main target of the BSP's attack in the appeal as Mayawati's foremost plea to the voters is to avenge the June 2, 1995 incident of Meera guest house in Lucknow when she and some BSP MLAs were allegedly attacked by SP activists.
Mayawati emphasises that her government had succeeded in wooing back investors and industrialists in the state during her short regime, by curbing goondaism and, thereby, creating a favourable atmosphere for businessmen.