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Author
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Topic: Dalit Party wins Majority in India's largest state
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ceti
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7851
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posted 12 May 2007 09:49 AM
Exit polls are notoriously inaccurate in India, especially as seat projections are a dicey game given the kaleidscope of groups and parties involved.So no one would have anticipated that Mayawati, a Dalit firebrand leader of the BSP, would get a majority in Uttar Pradesh, the first such government in 16 years of coalition politics. Emerging from the Dalit castes, the BSP was able to forge an all-caste coalition, driving the Samajwadi Party out of power and also reducing the BJP to a rump. Uttar Pradesh's population is at least 166 million, almost as much as Germany, France, and les Pays Bas together, so it seems odd that this remarkable election has not garnered more international coverage.
From: various musings before the revolution | Registered: Jan 2005
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Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276
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posted 12 May 2007 09:28 PM
From what I can see on a quick scan, a socialist government has been defeated by a populist party which has recently made its peace with many upper-caste Brahmins. Politics in UP has been a four-way game for decades, with additional players shifting here and there, so one would want to see who has done what to whom before concluding much.
quote:
Originally posted by ceti:
Uttar Pradesh's population is at least 166 million, almost as much as Germany, France, and les Pays Bas together, so it seems odd that this remarkable election has not garnered more international coverage.
Indeed. For that matter, the socialist (Samajwadi) government there got little attention from the west either.Here came Mayawati, a consistent foe of the Samajwadi Party boss since 1995, promising to wipe out everything that Mulayam Singh Yadav represents. [ 12 May 2007: Message edited by: Wilf Day ]
From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002
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