UNI

New Delhi, May 13: A day after Mayawati swept the polls in Uttar Pradesh, the RSS, the big brother of the Sangh Pariwar, today described her as the only non-BJP politician who had understood the dynamics of a united Hindu constituency.

Mayawati like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the 80s had subtly advanced a 'soft Hindutva' line appealing to the so called 'Manuwadis' while telling her own Bahujan Samaj that their interest rested in unified Hindu social order rather than artificially created barriers promoted by disparate interests by keeping the society mutually suspicious, Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece wrote in its latest edition.

The BSP's success in the poll marked a paradigm shift in the UP politics and the BJP achieved bigger gains riding on the crest of anti-incumbency against the Samajwadi Party, it said.

Slamming the BJP for its inability to continue its 'sterling victory' in the last civic elections in the state eight months ago and more recently in Delhi and Maharashtra, the paper said the BJP's losses might come as a 'surprise' for the party after its best performance in 1990 riding to power on the Ramjanmabhoomi movement bagging 225 seats. It should be matter of worry that the BJP was unable to retain its traditional base and lost it to Mayawati, it said.

The party's strength had come down to 177 seats in 1993 and in the subsequent elections in 2002 and 2004 elections, it lost substantial votes to its rivals.

The paper although is impressed by the BJP's campaign on various issues ranging from national security, price rise, law and order.

While promising good governance and development, somewhere there was a 'mismatch' in the party's strategy. Top party leaders including Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, former BJP Presidents Murli Manohar Joshi and M Venkaiah Naidu, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi extensively campained for the party but issues like Ram Temple were in the back burner.

The BJP it said had lost steam midway and its campaign got stuck between half hearted Hindutva, development and governance. An aggressive Hindutva approach would have ensured greater success. But the party was extremely restrained and the rumour that the BJP may ultimately go along with Mulayam Singh battered the BJP's chances, it said.