Those who love to scroll political reels are surprised to find Aditi Yadav, the daughter of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, trending in the digital space with the videos of the 21-year-old canvassing for her mother Dimple Yadav in Mainpuri finding traction on the Internet. Old men could be seen putting a pagdi (a symbol of succession) on Ms. Aditi’s head. This soft approach is new for the followers of the party where earlier videos of Netaji (Mulayam Singh), Mr. Yadav, and Chacha Shivpal Singh Yadav, set to muscular music, used to dot the digital space.
While Juhie Singh, party spokesperson and national president of the party’s Mahila Sabha, described Ms. Aditi’s tour “as a young student spending her summer holidays in a meaningful fashion”, observers see it as part of the party’s calibrated approach to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s continued outreach towards women voters whom he has described as one of the four castes that he prioritises.
The SP president is countering it in his speeches by saying that the A in his PDA pitch stands not just for Alpsankhyak (minority) but also aadhi abaadi (half-population for women). His speeches are laced with slogans like aadhi aabadi, poora haq (half population, total rights). Though SP rallies hardly have any women, Mr. Yadav is making a concerted attempt to reach out to a vote bank that has eluded the party in the past, by raking up the PM’s silence on Manipur.
Responding to the Election Commission data that said the gender gap not only vanished in the 2019 general election but women’s poll participation exceeded men’s, the SP think tank has fielded 10 women candidates out of 59 candidates announced so far. The SP is contesting 62 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP has shown faith in seven women candidates so far on the 72 seats out of 74 that it is contesting. The SP also carries the baggage of its ambivalence on women’s reservation Bill. “See, Mulayam Singh was not against reservation of women in politics. He sought a quota within quota for securing the interests of women from oppressed groups and minorities. This is what we are trying to achieve since the Assembly election,” said a senior member involved in ticket distribution.
After initial flip-flops, the party made some interesting choices in the cowbelt that belie its patriarchal image. Ruchi Veera managed to get over the inner turmoil over her candidature and the party feels she would retain Moradabad. Iqra Hasan led a spirited campaign in Kairana. With a stole on her head and the education of girls as a priority, the London-returned law professional found access into the non-Muslim households. In Meerut, a general seat, Dalit candidate Sunita Verma attempted the improbable task of shifting the Jatav vote of the Bahujan Samaj Party towards SP to make it a direct contest with BJP’s Arun Govil.
The campaign managers of the party are also subtly underlining the Rawat (Rajput) identity of bahu (daughter-in-law) Dimple into the realpolitik to offer an alternative to the Thakurs miffed with the BJP’s focus on Jats and Gurjars this time. “It is a suggestion that SP could be their home,” said a senior leader. The BJP has countered it by fielding Thakur Jaiveer Singh in Mainpuri. In the past, the ruling party has relied on candidates from the Shakya community which constitutes the second largest group after Yadavs in the constituency. Mr. Singh is an MLA from Mainpuri Sadar and a Minister in the Yogi Adityanath government. “By fielding a Minister, the BJP wants to use the administration to terrorise the voter. We will get 50% of the Thakur votes,” claimed Manish Yadav, a member of the State Committee of the party.
Meanwhile, Ms. Juhie Singh is focusing on playing up the minutiae like government ration shops delivering bajra (millet, considered a winter cereal) in summer.
Interestingly, Mr. Yadav’s erstwhile partner Chaudhary Jayant Singh, who has two daughters, is also pushing for an image shift. Drawing from the BJP playbook, Mr. Singh in his rallies, quoted from the National Family Health Survey to underline the financial inclusion of women under the current dispensation. “Mahila jo faisle leti hai woh dharatal se jude hote hain. [The decisions that women take are rooted in ground reality]. Give them a chance,” he would say to his all-male audience of farmers, beseeching them to bring along female members for the meetings. In a first, his wife Charu Singh led a road show in Baghpat. Come to think of it, the future of two seemingly patriarchal parties in the Hindi heartland could be female while Mayawati, who once survived an atmosphere of toxic masculinity to rule the State, has picked a male heir.
