Having failed to get Muslim support in the Lok Sabha elections, there is realisation in SP and BSP that backward castes, who account for 62 per cent of the population, should be won over.

Soon after the results were announced, BSP supremo and Chief Minister Mayawati blamed the minorities for not supporting the BSP though the party had put up over a dozen Muslim candidates.

Similarly, Muslims, who had been supporting Mulayam Singh Yadav, deserted the Samajwadi Party in the Lok Sabha polls when the party joined hands with former BJP chief minister Kalyan Singh.

That is why the arch rivals, BSP and SP have started taking steps aimed at wooing the backward castes with an eye on the Assembly elections, which are three years away.

The forthcoming by-elections to 12 assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in the meantime would give the major parties to test their popularity among the people.

In this battle, the ruling BSP has taken the lead by appointing backward caste leaders to key positions to take on the Samajwadi Party. Chief Minister Mayawati sprang a surprise by fielding two backward caste candidates in the by-elections for the Rajya Sabha seats rendered vacant by the resignation of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Banwarilal Kanchal. The BSP fielded backward caste leaders Ganga Charan Rajput, a Lodh, who lost his deposit against Varun Gandhi of BJP in Pilibhit and Sri Ram Pal, an old loyalist of the party.

BSP had projected these two leaders belonging to Bundelkhand to counter Kalyan Singh, who also claims to be the undisputed leader of the Lodh Rajput community.

Besides nominating these two leaders to the Rajya Sabha, Mayawati held a series of meetings to review the poor performance of her party, emphasising the need for giving importance to backwards, OBCs and MBCs.

The BSP supremo is shocked by the failure of the social engineering formula which brought her to power in UP in May 2007. Now, she is again talking about her Bahujan Samaj ignoring Sarvjan Samaj, which she had coined after the May 20007 polls.

Mayawati wants to consolidate her hold on Dalits and backwards besides firming up whatever little support she can get from the upper castes. During the Lok Sabha polls, not only Muslims but upper castes also shifted their loyalty to the Congress, which enabled the party to win 21 seats in the Lok Sabha and increase its vote share from 12 per cent in 2004 to 18 per cent in 2009.

Similarly, the Samajwadi Party is also trying to firm up his hold on the backward castes. This is evident from the advice Kalyan gave Mulayam that backward caste leaders should be given important positions in the party organization.

In order to strengthen the SP's position among the backward castes, Mulayam and Kalyan have decided to start a statewide Rath Yatra.

The combination of Mulayam and Kalyan had paid rich dividends in central UP where Lodh Rajputs helped the Samajwadi Party to win several seats. The sons of Mulayam and Kalyan, Akhilesh and Rajbir, also addressed a series of meetings in various constituencies helping the Samajwadi Party to a great extent.

While the SP and the BSP are wooing the backward caste voters, the Congress is set to consolidate its position among traditional voters of Brahmins, Harijans and Muslims. The recent victories of Congress saw the return of Dalits, Brahmins and Muslims to the party after almost two decades.

On the other hand, there seems no hope for the revival of the BJP in the state, which is rocked by infighting and the blame game, which is on at full blast.(IPA)