Caste net: Akhilesh going all out to woo Brahmins
~~By Ajay Uprety

Shrewd alliance: Akhilesh (third, from right)
with Brahmin ministers of his cabinet at a
rally in Lucknow. Photo by PAWAN KUMAR

Election time is also seduction time in India. In Uttar Pradesh, Brahmins are being wooed by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party because they constitute around 11 per cent of the population in the state.

The SP, led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, organised a Brahmin sammelan in Lucknow, recently. The occasion was carefully chosen—Parshuram Jayanti; Parshuram is a god revered by Brahmins. At the rally, a major sop was offered to Brahmins—withdrawal of all false cases filed against them under the SC/ST act during Mayawati's regime. “With the support of Brahmins, the party scored a majority in the Assembly polls and we would like to have the same support in future, too. Our party wants to give better results at the national level. Please help us achieve that,” said Akhilesh, at the mass meeting that was attended by prominent Brahmin leaders.

Said a party insider: “The SP will organise 30 such meetings across the state to woo  Brahmins. The party is banking on Muslim and Brahmin voters to get maximum number of seats.” The flip side of the gathering was a tug-of-war between two Brahmin ministers of the party—Pawan Pandey and Manoj Pandey. Supporters of these leaders tried to hijack the podium leading to commotion. Brahmins, nevertheless, were happy. Said Rajesh Dixit, a Brahmin leader: “Brahmins have not forgotten how they were implicated in false cases during Mayawati's regime. We feel safe under the SP.”

Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh had been loyal supporters of the BJP and the Congress, until Mayawati altered the scene. In the 2007 Assembly elections, she doled out 89 tickets to Brahmins and won 206 seats. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, when the BSP won 20 seats out of 80, Mayawati fielded 21 Brahmin candidates. After assuming power in 2007, she announced an array of welfare schemes for the Dalits and ignored the Brahmins. This was one of the reasons that led to her defeat in 2012.

But the BSP, it seems, has learnt its lessons and is busy organising meetings for Brahmins. Addressing a recent convention, its Brahmin leader Satish Chandra Mishra, MP, slammed the state government for the rising crime rate. He alleged that under the SP regime, temples were being taken over by feudal elements.

The BJP and the Congress have ridiculed the Brahmin-wooing by the SP and the BSP. Said Laxmikant Bajpai, state BJP president: “Their sudden love for Brahmins is a big farce. Both these parties have insulted the community many a time in the past.” Said a Congress leader: “The Samajwadi Party has forgotten the principles of Ram Manohar Lohia, whom they adulate. Lohia believed in a casteless society. By organising such meetings, the party is openly violating Lohia's principles.”

Strategic stats:
* Brahmins constitute around 11 per cent of the population in Uttar Pradesh.
* They have a say in 20 of 80 Lok Sabha seats.
* They resort to calculative voting and have been usually loyal to the BJP and the Congress. In the recent past, many of them have started supporting the BSP and the SP.
* In the 2007 Assembly elections, the BSP fielded Brahmins and won 206 seats. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, it fielded 21 Brahmin candidates.
* Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Mathura, Goverdhan and Ayodhya are Brahmin strongholds.
* Upretis, Sharmas, Mishras, Shuklas, Bhardwajs and Acharyas are some of the prominent Brahmin subsects in Uttar Pradesh.

 

Courtesy: The Week