Kumbh politics for UP2017: while BJP woos Dalits, BSP eyes Brahmins

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The action

• Recently, at the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, BJP president Amit Shah took a dip with Dalit seers
• At the same time, BSP MLA Uma Shankar Singh was present with over 7,000 people, most of them upper castes

The meaning

• It\'s clear that the BJP\'s focus is on breaking Mayawati\'s Dalit vote bank in the 2017 UP Assembly polls
• But the BSP is trying to hit back by wooing BJP\'s upper caste voter base

More in the story

• BSP\'s previous attempt at upper caste-Dalit consolidation. And did it work?
• Why Mayawati is unwilling to trust the Muslim voter

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah recently took a dip in the Shipra river in Ujjain during Simhastha Kumbh. Significantly, he took the dip with a group of Dalit seers.

At the same time Uma Shankar Singh, a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator from the Rasra constituency in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, was present with a trainload of pilgrims. His 7,000-strong contingent comprised mostly of upper caste pilgrims. Singh, though, clarified that his contingent also included Dalits and members of other backward classes.

Read- BJP's mantra for Mission UP: hail Modi, woo Dalits

It's clear that the battle lines are being drawn for the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Shah bathing with Dalit seers was just a small part of the bigger strategy - to wean away Mayawati's core voters, besides OBCs. The BSP, on the other hand, is countering the move by trying to win over Brahmins.

Important steps to woo Dalits

Shah is also slated to participate in a conference on scheduled castes in Lucknow on 4 June - another important part of the strategy to woo Dalits.

BJP spokesperson Vijay Pathak tried to explain why the party was going all out to win over Dalits. "In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mayawati could not win even a single seat from the state. If Dalits reposed faith in the party and voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have to ensure that we live up to their expectations," he said.

Before Shah's decision to bathe with Dalit seers at the Kumbh, the PM had launched the Stand Up India scheme in Noida on 5 April, 2016, Pathak said. The scheme is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship among scheduled castes and women by giving them loans ranging from Rs 10 lakh-Rs 1 crore.

The Prime Minister had also distributed e-rickshaws to the poor. The day the PM kick-started the scheme happened to be the birth anniversary of Babu Jagjivan Ram, a veteran Congress leader. The political significance of the event was not lost when Modi praised the former Union minister of agriculture and defence.

Earlier, in March, the BJP announced the development of five places as Panchteerth, in honour of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. The Panchteerth include Ambedkar's birthplace in Mhow, the place where he stayed in London during his student days, Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur (where he got his education), Mahaparinirvan Sthal in Delhi and Chaitya Bhoomi in Mumbai.

Brahmins feeling sidelined?

As Dalits and OBCs get all the focus, Brahmins, who comprise around 12% of the population, seem to have been pushed to the background.

A senior member of the executive agreed at feeling marginalised, but the spokesman said the perception was incorrect. He also compared things to the time when the BSP's Brahmin face, Satish Mishra, distributed as many laal battees (red beacons) as he possibly could to his relatives.

Also read: BJP's formula to win UP: play communal ball with SP

Not wanting to be identified, the senior state executive member said that a lack of credible options may not allow Brahmins to leave the party's umbrella, but they were feeling grumpy about the present scenario.

Muslim mistrust

Uma Shankar Singh, who also took a group of pilgrims to Ajmer Sharif, said that the unlike the BJP, Mayawati was being even-handed towards Dalits and Brahmins. He cited Rajya Sabha nominations for Satish Mishra and Ashok Siddharth, a Dalit, as an example of that.

Mayawati was the one who demanded a quota for the financially weak among the Hindus, he said.

In 2007, the BSP had fielded 86 Brahmins and 38 Thakurs, with superlative results. Sources said the party hoped that the same combination would hold good this time too.

Read more: With Dalits on its mind, BJP appoints Vijay Sampla as Punjab party chief

The reason why Mayawati is likely to rely more on a Dalit-Brahmin combination is the uncertainty of the direction the Muslim voter will take.

An article in an Urdu daily claimed that 'Behenji' does not trust Muslims, as they may eventually vote for the Samajwadi Party. The article also claimed that at a meeting of coordinators, Mayawati had expressed her disappointment with her party's Muslim face, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, for his inability to make inroads in the community.

A senior party leader described it as 'nonsense' and imaginary.

However, Ilyas Azmi, BSP's former Member of Parliament, and Anees Ahmad Khan alias Phool Babu, the party's MLA from Bisalpur in Pilibhit, agree that there is Muslim disenchantment with Behenji and Siddiqui.

"Naseemuddin Siddiqui has spoiled the atmosphere in the party... Muslims are no longer inclined to go with the BSP," said Phool, who was expelled from the party.

Azmi was more severe in his indictment. "Both Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are one-person parties, who want Muslims to follow them and not walk alongside them. They treat them like domestic servants. Naseemuddin's status is no better than that of a domestic help," he said.

Edited by Shreyas Sharma

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