The Hindu : Other States / Uttar Pradesh News : A year of BJP rout, naxal violence in U.P.

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Friday, Dec 31, 2004

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A year of BJP rout, naxal violence in U.P.

LUCKNOW, DEC. 30. Upsurge in Naxalite violence, sacking of Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri, countermanding of Mainpuri Lok Sabha by-poll bringing the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Election Commission at loggerheads, rout of BJP in Parliamentary elections in the state, and change of guard in BJP and Congress kept the State in the news in the year that passed by.

The year also saw the rise in numerical strength of ruling SP in the State assembly giving it a majority on its own following impressive victories in the assembly by-elections for 12 seats.

The party also regained the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in the by-poll and wrested the Akbarpur Lok Sabha seat from its arch rival BSP.

The Mainpuri bypoll had however been marred by controversies earlier forcing the EC to countermand the October 13 polling following charges of large-scale rigging and misuse of official machinery by the ruling party, triggering a war of words between the EC and SP.

The year also saw an upsurge in Naxalite violence in parts of Chandauli district and 20 policemen lost their lives when ultras blasted their vehicle and set ablaze a police outpost in October.

The year 2004 also saw the unceremonious exit of Governor and senior BJP leader Vishnu Kant Shastri, who was sacked by the UPA at the Centre after he refused to resign.

The year was not good especially for BJP whose electoral fortunes continued to nosedive in the general elections in May. It could win only 10 seats as against 29 in the last Lok Sabha elections despite the return of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh to the party-fold. Singh, who had parted ways with the saffron party following his removal from the top post and used every expletive for the top party leadership including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, later said he had uttered the remarks in "anger". The massive defeat forced the saffron party to reshuffle the organisational set-up in UP and young leader Vinay Katiyar was replaced by veteran Kesrinath Tripathi. Though Congress fared well in most other States, it once again failed to register a comeback in this crucial State and could win only nine Lok Sabha seats. The year witnessed a new low in Congress-SP relations and the spat between the two parties hogged limelight ever since the latter found itself politically isolated even after having 38 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

The SP also brought its own nominees for the post of the speakers of the State Assembly and Legislative Council. The multi-crore Taj expressway scam took its toll in the year gone by when senior IAS officer and former Environment Secretary, R.K. Sharma, an accused in the case, was sacked after a departmental inquiry. Former State Chief Secretary D.S. Bagga, who was suspended along with six other officials in the case, retired early in the year but his pension and other benefits were frozen in view of the ongoing case. The legal wrangles over the vexed Ayodhya issue continued to haunt the top BJP leadership with president L.K. Advani, senior leaders M.M. Joshi, Uma Bharti and Katiyar being issued notices by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on a criminal revision filed by the CBI challenging the special CBI court's order dropping proceedings against them and some others in the Ayodhya demolition case. The year also saw Kanpur hitting the civil air map of the country with the inaugural flight at the fag-end of the year.

-- PTI

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A year of BJP rout, naxal violence in U.P.