Mayawati cabinet okays division of UP into 4 states

Lucknow - 16 Nov 2011: Chief MinisterMayawatiwho has been trying hard in recent months to fend off allegations of corruption and misgovernance in the poll bound state has tried turning the tables on her political rivals especially the Congress by getting her cabinet to propose the division of Uttar Pradesh.

This would particularly put the Congress in a major spot as the mandate for creation of new states ultimately lies with the central government, even as theSamajwadi Partyand Bhartiya Janta Party would struggle to find a strategy against what the rulingBahujan Samaj Partysees as its political masterstroke.

With this move Mayawati has attempted to change the political debate currently focussed on her governments performance to that of creation of new states. While she looses nothing by proposing the division of UP into four smaller states, any delay in doing so would immediately be blamed on the Congress which has its government at the centre.

Addressing a press conference Chief Minister Mayawati said on Tuesday that the cabinet has decided to table a resolution in the assembly session which starts from November 21 for the division ofUttar Pradeshinto four small states of Poorvanchal (eastern-UP), Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh (central-UP), and Paschim Pradesh (western-UP). She said that the BSP has earlier created new districts for better administration and has always been in favour of division of UP into smaller states for better governance.

The UP assembly after passing the resolution would send the matter to the centre. The power for creation of new states vests with the central government, which Mayawati is acutely aware off and would highlight to the masses as the election campaign picks up.

The ruling BSP hopes to pander to the sub regional sentiments among the people by pointing out that while she has shown her commitment to the cause by passing a motion in the assembly for dividing UP, it is the central government which is sitting on the matter and delaying it.

The Congress led UPA government is already in a fix over the demand for creation of Telangana in Andhra Pradesh.

Incidentally both Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are crucial to the Congress party and the present UPA government sending the largest chunk of MPs to parliament. It was a strong showing in the 2009 polls in AP and a surprise performance in UP, where the Congress had been languishing for the last two decades, that helped the party come out with strong numbers and form the UPA-II government.

Mayawati hopes to blunt the aggressive campaign of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi with her latest card. The Congress would find it hard to explain its stand on the creation of new states as the election campaign picks up in coming weeks.

Rahul Gandhi through his frequent forays into villages of drought affected Bundelkhand and more recently in western-UP (Bhatta Parsaul, foot march to Aligarh) hoped to create a constituency for the Congress in the area.

source: Economics Times