“Yadav-vaad” or “Yadavisation” of government jobs in Uttar Pradesh—a term used by locals to explain how much of the government jobs in Uttar Pradesh have been given to people from the Yadav community in the past five years—is one of the major political challenges that the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) is facing in its battle to stay in power.
The anger of the youths, who have spent years in preparing for state public service examinations, is palpable in Allahabad which is the hub of young graduates who want to join the government sector.
“I did not vote last time. This time I will and I will also take my mother to the polling station. The Samajwadi Party has done nothing for me. All the government jobs have gone to the people from the Yadav community. You can go around and speak to other people and they will tell you how difficult it is to get a government job in UP right now if you are not a Yadav. Mayawati had her flaws, but jobs during her time were given on the basis of merit,” Vishal Mishra (name changed), a resident of Jhunsi, Allahabad, who is preparing for government jobs, said.
In the 2011 state civil services examination that was held during the tenure of this government, while the general category candidate got an average of 115 marks in the interview part, SC candidates got 105 marks, OBCs (non-Yadav) got 110 marks, while candidates from the Yadav community got an average of 138 marks in an examination where even 2-3 marks make a huge difference.
Anil Yadav, former chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC), who was removed by the Allahabad High Court in October 2015, was also accused of favouring candidates from the Yadav community and during his tenure, out of 86 sub-divisional magistrates chosen by the UPPSC in the past few years, 56 belonged to the Yadav caste, as per a petition filed by candidates who could not clear the examination.
According to political observers, “Yadav-vaad” was not a new “practice” in the state. “Whenever the SP comes into power, they do this. During their last tenure (2007-2012), out of the approximately one lakh constables, 21,000 were from the Yadav community. Similar was the case with other posts. Having officials from the Yadav community helps them in many ways, including propagating their ideology, silencing dissent and promoting and helping their own leaders. And I agree that despite having many negativities, Mayawati was not into this kind of corruption,” a professor with the University of Lucknow, who did not want to be named, said.
According to Nakul Patel (name changed), disenchantment of the non-Yadav youths with the present government was high due to its policy of patronising job seekers from the Yadav community. “It is very much there (the anger). We prepare 2-3 years for examinations only to be thrown out because of the fact that we are not Yadavs. The non-Yadavs will teach a lesson to the Samajwadi Party in this election,” he said.