The Clash of the Yadavs

For the Hindus, UP is a holy land. It is the Land of Lord Rama. But one can be forgiven if he thinks that it is the land of Mahabharata. Today Lucknow the Capital of UP looks more like a battlefield.

The key players in the ongoing war are mainly from the first family of UP, The Yadavs who are currently running the Government. There is just one outside player, Amar Singh, the biggest wheeler dealer once upon a time but now reduced to a has been.

The Yadavs have taken the meaning of Dynastic rule to a new level. There are twenty members of the family occupying various positions in the Government, the exact number to make two football teams.

But there is an enigma to why they are actually fighting. Everyone is blissfully employed, from MLAs to MLCs, MPs to Ministers, Chairman of Zila Panchayats to other juicy posts, it is all in the family.So what could suddenly go wrong?

Did they take the football analogy too seriously and decided to give it a shy.

The answer probably lies in the  Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The Yadavs have crossed all the fundamental levels and are now on their path of self actualization. This path has made them both greedy and blind.

Perhaps, Maslow could have added another level to his pyramid, specially for the Yadavs- The suicide level. The Yadavs are now in this part of the pyramid.

But for their survival, they must  realise that they can only win if they remain together.
They must all hang together or else all of them will be hanged separately.

This is the story of three ambitious uncles, or maybe two and a half , because Amar Singh is no longer the force he used to be. On the one hand there is Shivpal Yadav who is aligned with the Patriarch, the veteran of many a wars, Mulayam Singh Yadav and there is Gopal Yadav who has thrown his weight behind the son and the current Chief Minister of UP, Akhilesh Yadav.

What makes this story much more interesting is that it has another dimension. Mulayam Singh Yadav has a second wife.  So you see, it has all the ingredients of a typical bollywood boiler.

Now who wins in this tug of war? No one really. It will be the third party. The Muslims are the biggest supporters of the Samajwadi party. Now this split may leave them confused as whom to support.  These voters may then turn to either the Congress or one of the splinter groups.

So the biggest beneficiary may be the BJP.

But in politics, nothing can be predicted till the last moment.  Equations may change overnight, new partnerships can be forged. As of now, the rumours are that Mulayam Singh Yadav has called truce.

But we must thank Akhilesh Yadav for at least one thing. He  has spiced up the boring Elections.