An Indian Politician Finds Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Choudhury

Even at its most restrained, Indian politics is characterized by feints, ruses and ambushes, plotted from dozens of centers in the country's rambunctious multiparty political landscape. One of the most audacious gambits in recent memory was seen last week when Mayawati, the charismatic and controversial chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, declared, out of the blue, her intention to see her state broken into four.

To understand the significance of Mayawati's remarks, it's necessary to first understand the significance of Uttar Pradesh in Indian politics. For all 64 years of the life of the Indian republic, this vast northern state, once the center of the Mughal Empire, has been considered the jewel in the crown of the nation's politics. Its current population is about 200 million; if it were a country, it would be the fifth most populous in the world. It accounts for 80 seats (or about 15 percent) of India's 545-member Parliament, and has always been central to the political health and ambitions of the two most powerful national political parties, the Congress and the BJP, for whom winning the state comes very close to winning the house.