Agencies/Lucknow


Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Sham Lal Gandhi gives a lift to a Punjab policeman acting as a security guard, while campaigning after he filed his nomination papers in Amritsar yesterday. Punjab and four other states will hold assembly elections starting on January 30
Statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and her party symbol of an elephant were being wrapped in cloth yesterday after election officials ordered their covering ahead of state polls.
Mayawati has erected many large stone statues of herself across Uttar Pradesh.
The Election Commission believes the statues could be unfair election publicity during polls which begin on February 8 in the northern state of 200mn people.
The Bahujan Samaj Party chief has built up a reputation as a populist leader who taps into massive support among low-caste Indians who are often marginalised.
Known as the “Dalit queen,” she often attacks national politicians for ignoring the poor, but she is also criticised for her own extravagances such as building parks full of statues of herself and other low-caste leaders.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi said the statues must be wrapped up by tomorrow in line with the election code.
“We have done this to ensure a level-playing field for all political parties and to see that the ruling party does not derive any undue political mileage,” he told reporters.
Statues of elephants, the symbol of the BSP, were included in the order after rival parties complained about “free publicity,” though it was unclear if all elephant statues would be affected.
“The task (of covering the statues) is huge and would require both the procurement of material and arrangement of manpower,” Lucknow District Magistrate Anil Kumar Sagar said. “We will do our best to get the work completed latest by Wednesday evening.”
The unusual order has sparked a debate across Uttar Pradesh.
While opposition parties are thrilled over the Election Commission conceding their demand, the BSP has criticised the poll panel.
“This is the right step. After all, Mayawati’s statues are all over the place together with those of elephants in the several parks and memorials created by her with government funds worth thousands of crores. How can those be kept open when we are not even allowed to put up posters or banners,” opposition Samajwadi Party leader Shiv Pal Yadav said.
BSP spokesman Swami Prasad Maurya said the poll panel’s move was unfair.
“If elephants have to be wrapped up because elephant is also the BSP symbol and the Election Commission thinks the statues can influence voters, then why don’t they cover every lotus growing in ponds and not allow any individual on the street to raise his hand,” he said, referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s symbol of the lotus and the Congress’ hand symbol.
Some political analysts felt the move could prove counter-productive and ultimately help Mayawati consolidate her Dalit vote bank.
Mayawati, who has been Uttar Pradesh chief minister since 2007 after three previous short spells in office, has built vast statue parks in the state capital Lucknow and in Noida, a booming satellite city outside New Delhi.
In September she denied accusations in leaked US cables that she sent her private jet to Mumbai to pick up a pair of sandals, while she has also been greeted at rallies with garlands made out of Rs1,000 ($20) bank notes.
The Congress Party, which leads the national ruling coalition, has been campaigning hard in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest and most politically important state, but many experts predict Mayawati will retain power.
An easy win for Mayawati could make her an influential player in 2014 general elections.
Elections will be held in five states starting on January 30.