Chief Minister Mayawati is desperately trying to retain her hold over Dalit voters who demonstrated their partial shift towards Congress which enabled party to get as many as 21 seats in Lok Sabha.

The loss of Dalits votes for Bahujan Samaj Party in recently concluded Lok Sabha polls was evident from the fact that party could win only two seats out of total 17 reserved constituencies.

While on one hand chief minister blamed muslims and Brahmins for not supporting BSP, she reverted back to her Dalit agenda to protect traditional voters who had started shifting to Congress.

Chief Minister Mayawati announced that her successor would only be Dalit and she announced that Satish Chandra Mishra and Nasimuddin Siddiqui would no longer be brahmin or muslim face of party. She said that she would work enlisting support from brahmins and muslims.

Mayawati also got Government Order issued that senior officers would be held responsible if any incident of murder or rape or atrocities on Harijans was reported in their areas.

Chief Minister also asked DGP to hand over the compensation to Dalit rape victims at the earliest. DGP Vikram Singh recently spent lakhs of rupees to distribute compensation ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 75,000 per victim.

Mayawati got scared of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi who successfully won over Dalits through his own style of functioning including spending night in Dalit basti and sharing meal with Dalits.

After the elections Congress at centre not only made a Dalit woman Meira Kumar as Speaker of Lok Sabha, in UP party gave call to share meal with Dalits in their basti on June 19 to celebrate birthday of Rahul Gandhi. The programme was a great success as thousands of Congress workers had shared meal with Dalits all over the state.

To counter this, Chief Minister Mayawati also announced 'sharam karo diwas' to expose that mingling of Rahul Gandhi with dalits was nothing but sham and she also termed Mahatma Gandhi as natakbaj for his love for Harijans. She also got leaflets distributed to expose Rahul Gandhi.

It was only in this background UPCC President Rita Bahuguna Joshi during her recent visit to Moradabad addressed the meeting of Mahila Congress where she ridiculed Mayawati government for giving small compensation to rape victim from Dalits and spent lakhs of rupees in the name of expenses incurred in the distribution as DGP travelled from one district to another in state helicopter.

During the course of her speech, Rita Bahuguna allegedly used wrong words while criticizing the chief minister Mayawati and her government who took no time in booking her rival in SC and ST Act and got her arrested.

Chief Minister Mayawati realized that wrong words from Rita Bahuguna Joshi had given her an opportunity to term her and Congress as anti-Dalit to win over her voters once again.

Initially Congress was in a shock and senior leaders realised that Rita Bahuguna Joshi's speech against Mayawati proved to be great embarrassment and would cause set back to Rahul Gandhi's attempts to win over Dalits for party. As a result, senior party leaders including party president Mrs Sonia Gandhi expressed anguish and pain over developments in UP.

It was after Rahul Gandhi's statement in Amethi that language used by Mrs Rita Bahuguna may be wrong but sentiments expressed were right and they were provoked by wrongdoings of Mayawati changed the political scenario and party started backing Rita Bahuguna Joshi whose house was set on fire by BSP leaders under the protection of local police officers as shown by various channels who were present on the spot.

The political analysts now say that there would be no set back to Congress in its attempt to win over Dalits and party has forced Mayawati government to go backfoot with demand for CBI probe into the incident of arson at Rita Bahuguna's house in Lucknow. (IPA)