Opposition fans 'soft Hindutva' to counter BJP in UP polls

Lucknow: The opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh are adopting a 'soft Hindutva' policy to counter the ruling BJP in the crucial state Assembly polls early next year.

After Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) launched its Brahmin Sammelan from Ayodhya on July 23, now Samajwadi Party has directed its Brahmin leaders to hold similar meetings in the state.

BSP president Mayawati in a tweet on Tuesday said, "The enthusiastic participation of the people in the party's General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra's intellectual classes seminar, reflects their conscious faith in the BSP. Heartfelt thanks to all".

She further said, "This caravan, which started from Ayodhya on July 23 with the darshan of Shri Ram Lalla, is progressing successfully through Ambedkar Nagar and Prayagraj districts, due to which the opposition parties are getting restless and hence trying to to stop it. Now these parties are adopting different types of tactics. Be cautious."

The BSP which normally advocates for the advancement of backwards and Dalits, is now wooing the upper castes ahead of the 2022 UP elections. The BSP, which recently launched its ‘seminar for intellectual classes,’ formerly known as Brahmin Sammelan, from Ayodhya, Lord Ram’s birthplace, will now hold the second round of seminar from Mathura, Lord Krishna’s birthplace.

Mr Mishra, the BSP national general secretary and the Brahmin face of the party, said his campaign to unite Brahmins will continue. He has stated that the BSP’s campaign will continue in all 75 of the state’s districts.

"In August, the second phase will begin in Mathura and Vrindavan.” Mr Mishra further stated that the second phase will begin on August 1, with darshan of the Banke Bihari temple.

The BSP appears to be reverting to its 2007 “social engineering" formula, which allowed it to achieve a full majority government in the state. In 2007, the BSP received 30 per cent of the vote and gained 206 of the 403 Assembly seats. Its success was the product of a well-thought-out strategy devised by BSP chief Mayawati.

Candidates were also named in advance, with the party forming a friendly alliance of OBCs, Dalits, Brahmins and Muslims.

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party is not far behind and has organised a similar meeting with the goal of uniting the Brahmin community under the SP banner.

The Samajwadi Party has also declared that a statue of Lord Parshuram, who is revered by the Brahmin community, will be installed inside the Samajwadi Party’s Lucknow headquarters. A few days ago, the SP chief met with Brahmin leaders and even formed a committee to deal with the Brahmin community’s problems.

According to sources, SP will also hold Brahmin Sammelans in all of the state’s districts. The names of these gatherings are yet to be decided. The SP’s wooing of Brahmins campaign will begin in Ballia, which is also the birthplace of independence warrior Mangal Pandey.

The Samajwadi Party will reportedly begin its Brahmin outreach efforts on August 24. Surprisingly, when Akhilesh Yadav was elected as the state’s Chief Minister in 2012, 21 Brahmins were elected as MLAs on the SP platform. (UNI)