The Mayawati government of Uttar Pradesh was defeated in 2012. For the defeat of the Mayawati government, there were many reasons. Out of these reasons, we will try to explain how the issue of fertilizer subsidy was responsible for the defeat of Mayawati government.
The legislative Assembly election of Uttar Pradesh took place in February 2012. This was the period of rabi season. The rabi crops were flowering in the farm. The farmers were in dire need of the micronutrients fertilizers like sulphur, and magnesium.
India was importing these micro-nutrients from outside. To import these micro-nutrients, the central government was the decision-maker. By that time, the United Progressive Alliance government led by congress was at the center. The UPA government did not have good terms with the Mayawati government. So, the UPA government postponed the decision to import the micronutrients fertilizer.
So, the Mayawati government could not deliver the fertilizers to the farmers when there was a direct need for these fertilizers. This had created discontentment among the farmers. When the voting started in February 2012, the farmers had voted against the Mayawati government as they could not get the fertilizers at the right time. Though there was no fault of Mayawati’s government, she had to face the brunt of the people.
To conclude, voting behaviour can be influenced by many factors. Many times, many factors are out of the control of political parties.
