A strong undercurrent of resentment over governance issues threatens to scuttle her 2007 social engineering formula. Farmers, whether Dalit or non-Dalit, are resentful about a scarcity of fertilisers and their black marketing, especially during the wheat-sowing months, besides that of seeds. Many are also resentful about not having got a house under any government scheme.

Sitting in a temple in Ram Nagar’s Kuntir village, believed to have been built by the Pandavas’ mother Kunti, Mahant Ramanand Das, a Kurmi, says he voted for the BSP in 2007 but will “vote for Beni Prasad Verma” this year. “She has done everything for elephants, nothing for humans.”

He was referring to the statues and memorials all over the state. Mayawati has released a two-page newspaper advertisement defending the statues. “Nobel Prize winner and economist Amartya Sen writes that the habit of bahujan samaj to keep silent is the biggest shatru in securing social justice. But I had understood this reality long back. And, therefore, I took such policy decisions that would have far-reaching results and got such sthal (parks/statues) and memorials built, which would exhibit the aan-baan-shaan of the bahujan samaj for centuries,” Mayawati wrote in the ad.

Pointing to the Kalpavriksha, a huge tree associated with myth, Das says the Mulayam Singh Yadav government had given Rs 25 lakh for its upkeep.

At Ram Nagar kasba, Chhotelal and Ramlal, both Dalits, are polishing shoes. “I have four children and we live under a thatched roof, which cannot withstand even rain. I have met everybody, from village pradhan to administration official, but nobody is ready to sanction a house,” says Ramlal. Asked if they will vote for the BSP, both say they will vote for “whomever everybody (Dalit) votes for”.

At Masauli village in Zaidpur, Munna, a Muslim, complains how he paid triple price for urea to black marketeers “at 2am” right outside the authorised distributor’s shop. “There was no such problem during the Mulayam regime,” he says. Stopping by to join the conversation, Ramsharan Prajapat adds, “During Mulayam’s time, people took money but fertilisers and seeds were easily available.”

Asked if he got a house, Shamhu Kahar, a Dalit, says, “We get no schemes. They are all meant for bade aadmi.” About 300km away, Hasimullah of Bhaisahiyan in Khalilabad constituency, says, “Yes, two-three houses were built under some scheme, but I have got one.”

At Mehrabari village in Sahajanwa, Umesh Chandra Tripathi says that never since his childhood has he seen paddy or wheat being procured at MSP by any government agency. In the village’s Harijan Basti, Ramhit has got a house but Chandrawati and Bindu have not because they didn’t have the money to pay to those sanctioning the house under a government scheme. Asked if they will or won’t vote for Mayawati, they giggle. Ramhit intervenes, “She (Mayawati) is sending money but people pocket it midway. What can she do?”

B N Tiwari of Patharbajari village in Domariyaganj had voted for the BSP but is undecided now. “There is such a crisis of fertilisers and seeds,” he says.