In an interview with ‘Historically Speaking’, senior journalist Pankaj Vohra gave an interesting viewpoint to Dr. Aishwarya Pandit Sharma about Mayawati and the Dalit movement and how the impact of the movement has gone down.
Vohra mentioned the perceived decline in political activity by Mayawati, possibly due to various factors. He suggested that Mayawati has been less visible in recent years, possibly in response to allegations of corruption and concerns about potential repercussions from the central government. This decreased participation in elections is seen as contributing to a decline in her political influence.
Vohra said, “I can’t identify the for real reason, but I can give you my opinion on it. It is because there is a growing perception that Mayawati, in the last few years has been doing politics. She’s been lying low. She, you know, there were allegations of corruption against her, and she was perhaps scared that the, dispensation at the centre would, crack down on her. So she lied low. She did not participate as, openly in elections as she would in. So, if you are not participating in elections in the manner in which you had earlier. So obviously, you know, there will be dilution of your equity.”
He also gave the reason about why the new Dalit leaders aren’t able to make any impact.
“They will, you know, eventually. But the thing is that she is losing and they are not being able to. Yeah. So, the Dalit vote is going somewhere. They will, you know, eventually. But the thing is that she is losing and they are not being able to. Yeah. So, the Dalit vote is going somewhere. So the guess is that it’s perhaps returning back to the Congress.”