Stray cattle failed to become a poll issue

Despite all the public outcry and brouhaha by the opposition, the stray cattle menace apparently failed to become a poll issue during the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh contrary to what many believed beforehand.

Despite all the public outcry and brouhaha by the opposition, the stray cattle menace apparently failed to become a poll issue during the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh contrary to what many believed beforehand.

The opposition, however, blames the BJP for not allowing the stray cattle menace, like many other similar things of public concern, to become a poll issue. (Representative image)

Browse a few months’ old newspapers and one will hardly miss screaming headlines such as “Stray cattle may just dampen BJP’s prospects in UP’, “Why stray cattle in UP will be a poll issue”, and “Abandoned cattle a major poll issue in UP.”

But the noise over the stray cattle, as it is evident now, could not turn into an election issue with the opposition moving to other pressing matters.

The opposition, however, blames the BJP for not allowing the stray cattle menace, like many other similar things of public concern, to become a poll issue.

“The opposition did try to raise all the public issues, including the stray cattle menace but the BJP did not allow them to become poll issues by bringing into and playing up emotive issues like nationalism and Balakot airstrikes,” Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) national secretary Anil Dubey said.

The opposition may have a point but it is believed that the cattle menace as a poll issue started losing steam after chief minister Yogi Adityanath issued a one-week ultimatum to the district magistrates, asking them to ensure all the stray cattle were chained and put into shelters by January 10.

The diktat came in view of the complaints about some farmers starting to forcibly lock the cattle in government schools, hospitals etc in many districts.

The incidents probably jolted the government out of their slumber, making it realize the issue might hurt the BJP’s electoral prospects if the bull was not taken by its horns.

Within no time of the CM’s ultimatum, the staff was seen going after the stray cattle, often creating comic scenes in many cities.

The exercise started yielding the desired results sooner than later. Within three-four months, well before the elections, around four lakh stray cattle were inside the temporary cow shelters erected at neck-break speed all over the state with all arrangements for the feeding and general upkeep of the bovines.

“Putting such a large number of stray cattle into shelters eased the problem of the herds of the cattle trampling down the standing crops or causing traffic bottlenecks in city areas,” said Rajesh Yadav, a ‘rojgar seveak’ and resident of Deori village in Kasganj.

Explaining why the stray cattle could not become a poll issue, BJP spokesperson Chandramohan said the number of stray cattle started growing after the Yogi Adityanath government strictly enforced the ban on operation of illegal slaughter houses and the public sentiments on this issue, he claimed were with the government.

“Moreover, our government also provided a quick and effective solution to the problem by arranging cow shelters all over the state due to which the hue and cry over the stray cattle gradually died down by the time polls approached.

“After all, the opposition, especially the Samajwadi Party, is responsible for doing away with the old system of kanji houses (cow shelters) by encroaching upon them,” he alleged.

He refuted the opposition charges about the BJP confining the debate to issues like nationalism.

“The fact is that the opposition had no issues at all and their noise over the stray cattle too was a mere propaganda,” Chandramohan said.

Besides, the Modi factor eclipsed most other issues.

“Those who were voting against the BJP were not doing so because they were upset over the stray cattle and those who were voting for the BJP were not doing so because the Yogi government had provided a solution to the problem. For either side the issue this election was only one and this was Modi,” a senior bureaucrat said requesting anonymity.