politics | india politics

As Mayawati emerged the pivot of moves to oust the Manmohan Singh government, the BJP-led NDA appeared to run the serious risk of losing its billing as the principal challenger to the UPA coalition.
For the second day running, BJP lost out to BSP-led charge for numbers in the prime-time TRP. As Mayawati made good her pledge to take the fight to the UPA camp, poaching MPs of her archrival SP and reaching out to new allies stretching from Left to UNPA, BJP managers were unable to back up their high-voltage rhetoric over the last week by organising numbers.
BJP leaders have not managed a single MP from the pro-deal or "undecided" columns since last week when a senior party functionary lured away Harish Nagpal, the Independent MP from Amroha, despite the aggressive scramble for him by both SP and BSP.
The contrast with Mayawati's headline-hogging exploits is stark. The Dalit star has had a procession of leaders calling on her since she landed here on Saturday. On Sunday, she succeeded in snatching Ajit Singh from Congress just when the ruling party thought it had a deal with the Jat leader. The UP chief minister was easily the most conspicuous presence in the frame when JD-S leader, former PM H D Deve Gowda, after having indicated all this while that he had tilted towards supporting the deal, sent his son H D Kumaraswamy and party MP, M Shivanna, to the UNPA get-together. Mayawati takes advantage of Left UNPA compulsions
New Delhi: The NDA's PR deficit was aggravated on Sunday when it failed to hold on to its wavering MPs -- Ramswaroop Prasad and P P Koya of JD-U and Braj Bhushan Sharan Singh of BJP. Aggressive denials from NDA managers could not quell the speculation on more desertions from its ranks.
Several factors contributed to BJP's lower visibility at a time when the government was ripe for an all-out assault. Mayawati is benefiting from the compulsion of Left and UNPA members not to be seen as hobnobbing with the 'communal' BJP. The 'secular' outfits are loath to engage with BJP for the fear of annoying their Muslim constituency, and SP's charge that they were part of a vast 'communal' plot has reduced the manoeuvre space further.
Also, the outcome of the trust vote will depend, to a crucial extent, on whether SP is able to check erosion of its numbers, and this enhances the significance of the UP CM in the numbers game. Being the ascendant political force, she is far better placed to be the rival pole of attraction for those looking for accommodation outside the Samajwadi tent. Assurances from the chief minister will, in any case, carry more credibility with even those looking for compensation, other than political, for switching sides.
While the alibi offered by the BJP managers was that they could not match Mayawati's 'snatch-andgrab' tactics, having to take the backseat to her has underlined the mismatch between the soundbytes of voluble spokespersons and the skillset needed for highstakes political operations. More seriously, it has yet again exposed the inability of the NDA allies to jell into a smart and alert political machine -- a shortcoming which leaves the BJP to shoulder the burden alone.