UTTAR PRADESH: MAYAWATI HAS LITTLE TO SHOW FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 004537 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR PARM IN SUBJECT: UTTAR PRADESH: MAYAWATI HAS LITTLE TO SHOW FOR FIRST 100 DAYS REF: NEW DELHI 4396 Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary: A recent visit by Emboffs to Uttar Pradesh (UP) revealed that newly elected Chief Minister Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has left a trail of governance and policy missteps in her first 100 days in office but continues to engender hope and confidence in many sections of society unhappy with the policies of the preceding government. While Mayawati made progress in checking mafia politics and the criminals/politician nexus -- "goonda raj" -- in the state, she has not developed a coherent agenda to address the deep-rooted problems of poverty, education, employment and governance facing the state. Instead, she remains focused on undoing many of the decisions of her predecessor, on providing symbolic gestures of empowerment to her Dalit base and on positioning herself for a national political role in the event of early Parliamentary elections in India. End Summary. The Return of the Queen -------------- ¶2. (SBU) EmbOffs traveled recently to Uttar Pradesh (UP) -- the Hindi heartland of North India -- to gauge the pulse of the newly elected Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government. As India's most populous state, UP sends the largest number of Parliamentarians to the Lok Sabha (lower house) and exerts a significant impact on national politics. Chief Minister Mayawati, one of India's most prominent Dalit leaders, led an unlikely Dalit-Brahmin coalition to power in May 2007. In so doing, she ousted Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party (SP) from power and crushed the two mainstream national parties -- the Congress Party and the Bhartiya Janata Party. The End of the "Goonda Raj" -------------- ¶3. (C) Times of India News Lucknow Editor Dilip Awasthi told Poloff that it was too early to provide an overall assessment of Mayawati's performance and she needs more time to implement her agenda for improving the lives of the citizens of UP. However, he already detects less corruption in government. He also noted that, in contrast to conditions under Mulayam Singh Yadav, people feel more secure because Mayawati had taken steps to end "goonda raj." UP citizens no longer feared violent reprisal for challenging the government, which he contended happened routinely under Mulayam. Awasthi pointed to other positive changes such as government workers showing up for work on time but conceded that Mayawati used an element of fear to implement these changes. The government workers "know they will be sacked" if they disobey her. The Rise of a Dictator -------------- ¶4. (C) At a breakfast roundtable, Indian Express journalist Alka Pandey described Mayawati as unpredictable, rash and "a dictator without a uniform." Pandey and Urdu daily "In Dinon" editor Zaheer Mustafa asserted that she was "anti-media." Mayawati rarely interacts with the media and when she does, they said, she reads a prepared statement after which she refuses to answer any questions, concluding by stating, "I have said all I wanted to." Businessman Mukesh Jashnani, who claimed to be close to Mayawati's right hand man Satish Chandra Mishra, told Poloff that Mishra himself was beginning to doubt the sincerity of Mayawati's vision of social equity. Roundtable participants contended that she rules through fear and would "crush" or "wipe out" anyone who dared to challenge or contradict her. Pandey doubted the sustainability of the party as Mayawati is not grooming anyone to take her place. NEW DELHI 00004537 002 OF 003 Getting Even With Mulayam -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The large Indian conglomerate Reliance was considered close to the Samajwadi Party and the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime in UP. According to our interlocutors, after vandalism directed against new Reliance Fresh grocery stores in August, Mayawati acted harshly by shutting down Reliance stores in Lucknow and Varanasi. Although farmers subsequently took to the streets demanding the reopening of these stores, Mayawati insisted her actions represented farmer friendly policies as well as restoration of law and order. Journalists noted that people from every stratum of society were unhappy with the store closings. A rumor Emboffs heard frequently was that Mayawati was looking for her cut from Reliance since her predecessor had already gotten his share (ref A). To the continued frustration of consumers, stores have not reopened and Reliance recently announced its intention to hold off on expanding operations in UP. ¶6. (C) Since taking office, Mayawati has fired over 18,000 police officers who were hired by the Mulayam Singh Yadav government. She has alleged irregularities in recruitment and hiring of police officers to justify her actions. Alka Pandey of the Indian Express commented that instead of providing solutions, Mayawati has been merely reacting to the previous administration actions. How will she be able to maintain law and order without a police force, Pandey questioned rhetorically. Moving On Up -------------- ¶7. (C) Having successfully swept UP with the first absolute majority government in over 17 years, Mayawati has political aspirations that go beyond UP, according to our interlocutors. They contend that she is already a significant player at the national level and destined to play an even more important role in Delhi. In Varanasi, Hindustan Times Senior Staff Writer Prabhu Razdan noted that Mayawati can become Prime Minister if the BSP wins 50 seats in the next Lok Sabha. She will use the BSP seats as leverage for her Prime Ministerial ambitions, offering those seats to whichever coalition will promise her the position. In preparation, she will target Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra for electoral success beyond UP, Razdan asserted. Ramesh K. Singh, a journalist for The Pioneer, questioned whether the two mainstream national parties would allow Mayawati to gain such power. Razdan believes, however, that both the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress Party are in such internal turmoil that Mayawati could blindside them before they even realize what hit them. ¶8. (C) While many interlocutors did not discount the possibility of her becoming the next Prime Minister, some were horrified at the prospect. Reflecting their class biases, they noted that her Hindi was "crude" and her English non-existent. Describing her as "unrefined," they felt it was acceptable for her to represent UP in Delhi but were appalled at the prospect of Mayawati as the face of India on the international stage. Many observers we talked to felt that Mayawati may get to be Prime Minister one day but she is too rash and unpredictable to remain in power for more than a few months. A Vision of Social Equity -------------- ¶9. (C) Still, hopes for Mayawati permeated many of our meetings. Sushila Singh, Principal of the Women's College at Benares Hindu University (BHU),best encapsulated those sentiments. She remarked that Mayawati is a phenomenon projecting the new face of India, representing a new NEW DELHI 00004537 003 OF 003 political chapter for those who have been marginalized. According to Singh, no one else in the political scene represents the vision of social equity as does Mayawati. Calling her the most powerful woman in Indian politics after Sonia Gandhi, Singh asked that people reserve judgment and wait to see Mayawati develop. Woman in a Hurry -------------- ¶11. (C) In Varanasi, a group of professors from BHU described Mayawati as a "woman in a hurry." BHU Information and Public Relations Officer Vishwanath Pandey remarked that development takes longer than a campaign schedule. It would take at least ten years to see the fruits of development. What Mayawati may be able to do in the short term is send reassuring signals to her constituencies. For instance, she could convey a token sense of empowerment to Dalits by building parks and monuments to honor Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar -- a staunch advocate for Dalit rights in India who was able to codify the abolition of untouchability in the Indian Constitution. ¶12. (C) Hindustan Times' Razdan suggested that she would stand to gain significantly from early national elections. Having just emerged from a successful campaign, she still retains the halo of popularity that brought her to power. If elections were to be held before mid-2008, she would not be expected to have produced results in less than one year in office. Nor would she have anti-incumbency working against her in such a short time. Razdan said Mayawati can enter a national campaign on the same themes that brought her to power in UP - promises to empower the downtrodden, citing as example her own struggle and through deifying Dr. Ambedkar by building parks in his honor. Comment: Old Wine, New Bottle -------------- ¶13. (C) The problems retarding development in UP are so deeply entrenched that it would pose a difficult challenge for even the best of administrations. The first 100 days of Mayawati's regime provide little evidence that she is up to the task. While Mayawati has been able to make a small dent in UP's thug culture, she has yet to develop an agenda that can begin to address the problems of poverty, education and employment facing the state. With her focus on undoing decisions of Mulayam Singh Yadav, an eye on national power, and merely symbolic gestures of empowerment for the downtrodden, the citizens of UP might have to wait a long time for progress to reach their doorsteps. Mayawati's own reputation for corruption and unpredictablility earned during her last stint at the helm of UP do not at this point engender confidence that this tenure will be different. End Comment. MULFORD