Chapter 321: The Grassroots Situation

"It's only 80 million rupees. It's a good deal to make Varanasi your own!"

"You have an unusually big appetite," Aditya exclaimed.

"That's nothing. I also want to launch our agents in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra."

"More? How much will it cost?" Aditya sobbed in pain.

I have never seen an election won solely by money. If you want to control these places, you will have to spend at least hundreds of millions of rupees.

"The situation there is different. I'll find another way." Ron waved his hand.

"Okay, let's talk about Varanasi first. You need eight candidates for eight constituencies. What are you going to do with the other seven?"

"That depends on you, uncle."

"I?"

"Yes, any suitable relatives or friends of the Sur family will be arranged. Besides, you have been in Varanasi for so many years, so you must have some trustworthy friends, right? Bring them over, and I will pay for the election. There is only one condition: the Sur family will have the final say in all matters concerning the constituency from now on."

Candidates who win constituencies are more than just state legislators. They also hold immense power within their constituencies.

For example, promote the implementation of policies such as infrastructure construction, employment, and people's livelihood welfare, and seek funding from the government.

At the same time, members of parliament also act as official spokespersons in their constituencies, explaining government policies to voters and conveying grassroots public opinion to the legislature, acting as a bridge for "upward and downward communication."

To sum up, there are two aspects of power: people's livelihood and publicity.

Once the Suhr family took control of these constituencies, they gained control of the local government to a considerable extent.

As a constituency representative, it makes sense for me to promote infrastructure development in the area.

Hey, the Suer family happens to own a construction company and cement. Isn’t that a coincidence?

Is there anyone going to court to sue me? Who in this court dares to sue me?

All newspapers and media, shut up!

This is the constituency, and it is just the tip of the iceberg of constituency affairs.

There are countless policies related to people's livelihood and welfare. If a legislator wants to make money, the government funding alone is enough for him to eat his fill.

Ron and Aditya had visited the Dubey family in order to acquire land in Varanasi.

He is still impressed by the nouveau riche manor. The garden, sculptures, retractable roof, plasma TV

Where did the Dubey family get the money? It was because he was the MP from a constituency in Varanasi and he was the "key person".

Now Ron also wants to support a few such congressmen, so that getting land, contracting projects, etc. in the future will be as easy as taking candy from a baby.

"Of course there's no problem in winning over a few candidates, but Ron, what are you going to do in Mirzapur?" asked Aditya.

"Uncle, India's elections are completely manipulable. They're even more blatant and blatant than in the United States."

"so."

"Don't forget we also have cement factories with tens of thousands of workers, each with tens of thousands of families. Hundreds of thousands of people are more than enough to capture one or two constituencies."

"Where are the electors, or are they from the BJP?"

"No, I'm going to start a new party."

"Huh?" Aditya thought he had misheard. "A new party? Isn't this too sudden? We're not prepared at all."

Although he wasn't a member of parliament, he knew that establishing a political party was a daunting task. Besides the various charter theories, you also needed to have your own core values.

"This is a party that caters to lower castes. There's no need to go to such lengths. Uncle, please tell me about the major political parties in Uttar Pradesh."

Ron hadn't paid much attention to this aspect before, but this time, he was blackmailed twice by the so-called party leader in Lucknow, which made him realize that he still had to have his own hardcore political power.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a member of the Suer family or not, what matters is that you are obedient and completely under control!

Since you asked this question, Aditya simply introduced the three major political parties in Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahasa Samajwadi Party (BSP), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Needless to say, Ron has had enough contact with the BJP.

The Socialist Party is the party founded by Yadav, and its political base is the alliance of Yadav caste people and herders.

The advantages are needless to say. The huge caste group is its voting base, not to mention that the herders also support them.

The shortcomings are also obvious. Yadav is a low caste, but he is not fighting for the welfare of all low castes.

The Socialist Party's services are mainly focused on the Yadav community, while other backward castes are excluded.

There are also distinctions between high and low castes.

Yadav even had a vague intention of raising his caste and leaving the low caste category.

The All India Yadav Federation claims that all Yadavs are descendants of Lord Krishna.

In the epic, Lord Krishna is depicted as a cowherd, the traditional caste duty of the Yadavs.

According to this view, the genetic heritage of the Yadavs should be as pure as that of the Brahmins, or purer than theirs.

The alliance also declared that Lalu Yadav of Bihar and Mulayam Yadav of Uttar Pradesh are incarnations of Lord Krishna.

Look, they find evidence directly from mythology. Yadav is not a low caste, it is purer than Brahmins!

This is just like a gangster who tries his best to whitewash himself after coming out of hiding.

Finally, India’s political elections will return to the era when gods and Buddhas were everywhere, and the leaders of various parties were all incarnations of gods!

Yadav is only concerned about himself and has occupied public positions and social resources in Uttar Pradesh that are disproportionate to his population.

They are also not very concerned about their allies, the herders, believing that as long as the threat of the BJP exists, the herders will vote for them anyway.

As a result, Hindus also believe that Yadav is flattering the herders and ignoring their own rights.

The Socialist Party, which is caught between two sides, is unable to mediate the conflict between Hindus and herders, and their current situation is not optimistic.

The Bahasa Samajwadi Party, to which Mayawati belongs, is a party of the untouchables.

Their early goals were to unite the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and the Dalits against their upper-caste rivals and to distribute electoral political resources and social benefits to their supporters.

This strategy was successful in the early stages, but the alliance was not reliable.

When it comes to Uttar Pradesh, many people imagine the scene of Brahmins or Kshatriya masters riding on the heads of Dalits and acting tyrannically.

This is not true, Brahmins have no contact with Dalits in their daily lives!

They are either high-ranking civil servants, parliamentarians, or upper-class landowners.

For example, the Sur family, the people who rented their land were all Shudras and Vaishyas, no Dalits.

There is a special village for Dalits, but Ron never went there when he was a child because his family elders did not allow him to go there.

Dalits are more likely to come into contact with other backward castes in their daily lives, and the two sides are more likely to compete for the same resources.

That is why we have the current absurd situation of the alliance between the Bahasa Samajwadi Party (low caste) and the BJP (high caste).

Dalits and Brahmins united?

Yes, Uttar Pradesh politics is so magical!

Therefore, the Bahasa Samajwadi Party also has its own dilemma. They cannot win over all the backward castes, and any alliance with the Brahmins will be criticized by other castes.

This has led to the idea that the Popular Socialist Party is not about resisting oppression, but about winning over communities that were previously excluded from electoral politics to fight against other communities.

By the way, India's political situation has entered a new era since the 1990s.

It can be roughly summarized as the era of "Mandal" (caste politics) versus "Mandir" (temple, referring to Hindu nationalism).

In other words, it is an era of identity politics based on religious identity vs. identity politics based on ethnic identity.

The BJP is a "mandir" (religion), a force that attempts to centripetalize the whole of India, which is what Mo Daxian often referred to as "saffronization" later.

The Socialist Party and the Bahasa Samajwadi Party are "Mandal" (caste), a centrifugal force organized by middle and lower caste political parties. It can also be called "silent sacrifice."

Both forces are tearing apart India's federal legacy inherited from the British Empire.

It’s just that Uttar Pradesh is a special case. It is dominated by the caste system, and politics is not immune to it.

The BJP's ideology is not yet accepted by the mainstream in Uttar Pradesh, so it needs to unite with the BJP to fight against the powerful Yadav-herders alliance.

The irony is that both the Socialist Party and the Popular Socialist Party ultimately have to resort to winning over the elite to consolidate their electoral base.

Because the upper-level political resources in Uttar Pradesh are controlled by the upper castes, to this day, the proportion of Brahmins and Kshatriyas holding important positions and high-ranking officials is still far ahead.

It’s wonderful, really fucking wonderful!

Ron was quite impressed by the political chaos in Uttar Pradesh.

This may be the state with the most complicated political structure in India. It is a complete mess and no one is willing to submit to anyone else.

This can be seen from the term of office of the Chief Minister of India. Since independence, only two Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh have completed their five-year term.

Most of the remaining 17 chief ministers resigned midway through their terms, with the shortest serving for only 20 days.

The dangerous political struggle created this chaotic situation.

"Elections are complex. This is just an introduction to the major political parties. If we were to discuss their power in the various districts on the Wild Boar map, that would take days."

"That's enough. I don't care about other areas. I only care about the Pufancha area!" Ron's goal was clear.

"Puvancha district is the most troubled. Gangs are rampant here and the crime rate is the highest in Uttar Pradesh." Aditya himself is also very troubled.

“Tripathi in Mirzapur and Tilaka in Sonbhadra?”

"That's just the south. The north isn't peaceful either. In the crazy east, there's no peaceful land."

"Let's take care of the south first. It concerns our business and foundation."

"What are you going to do?" Aditya asked curiously.

"Obviously, there can only be one voice there." Ron spread his hands.

He already had an idea and even made preparations in advance.

It's time to go meet Muna. I wonder if he has grasped the essence of those tasks from a while ago.

Democracy in Uttar Pradesh may look completely different.

(End of this chapter)