Mayawati resignation: Gimmick or well thought-out plan?

Lucknow, July 23 : BSP chief Mayawati’s political adversaries might term her dramatic resignation as a gimmick, but analysts say the astute politician has taken a well thought-out plan to resign from the Rajya Sabha to regain her losing hold over her core electorate. “Mayawati seems to have realised, after successive failures at the hustings, that she has to return to her core votebank — the Dalits — for her political survival and the live debate on the TV gave her the best opportunity to announce it to the world that she is ready for all sacrifice and emerge as the most credible spokesperson of Dalit issues,” political analyst and former head of political science department of Lucknow University Ramesh Dixit says. This is not the first time that Mayawati was heckled while speaking in the House or the Chair has tried to restrict the duration of her speech, so her aggressive postures in the House before storming out have been taken as a move to draw attention to herself and brand the BJP as anti-Dalit. “It was a well thought-out strategy to regain her ground in the face of the recent challenges but how far she will be successful has to be seen,” Dalit activist and retired IPS officer S R Darapuri says.