There is an uproar in the politics of UP as to whether Samajwadi Party chief and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav gave the status of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly to Mata Prasad Pandey. Hyperactive supporters of Samajwadi Party on social media feel that by giving second position to a Brahmin leader in SP, Akhilesh is moving away from the PDA formula (Backward-Dalit-Minority) created by himself. Which is not in the interest of the party. But on the other hand, there is no dearth of people who believe that by taking this decision, Akhilesh Yadav has proved that he has now matured in politics. When he placed his bet on non-Yadav candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, it was also said that it could be a blunder for the Samajwadi Party. But the election results show that Akhilesh’s decision was far-sighted. Similarly, by giving the responsibility of an important post like Leader of Opposition to a Brahmin leader, Akhilesh Yadav has played a gamble which is going to be very difficult for BJP.
1- Are Brahmins feeling neglected in BJP?
In the caste equation of UP, Brahmins have been at third position in terms of numerical strength. After Dalits and Yadavs, Brahmin votes have been decisive in terms of population. But due to political awareness, Brahmins have always been most influential in the politics of the state. Before the beginning of Mandal politics, most of the Chief Ministers of the state were Brahmins. After the fall of Congress, Brahmin voters inclined towards BJP. This was the reason why in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and 2017 Assembly elections, BJP had secured 72% and 80% Brahmin votes respectively. Despite all the resentment from the UP government in 2022, this trend continued. But in BJP he did not get the respect that he used to get in Congress.
Of all the BJP CMs in Uttar Pradesh till now, there has not been a single Brahmin. Presently the situation is that both the Chief Minister of UP and the UP BJP President are not Brahmins. There has been so much competition between Brahmins versus Rajputs in the politics of Uttar Pradesh that during the Congress rule, one of the two was always the head of the government and the other was the head of the organization. But BJP forgot it. Even at the Center, BJP has not made any senior minister from this community.
Brahmins have also alleged that the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh took action against the Brahmin mafia but the Thakur mafia continued to roam free. There were also allegations that Thakurs were appointed to special posts in the state. The result of all these allegations was that the votes of Brahmins were divided in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Vinay Shankar Tiwari, who has been MLA from Chillupar (Gorakhpur) on Samajwadi Party ticket, says that Brahmins will come with Samajwadi Party in large numbers in the upcoming assembly elections. Tiwari says that Brahmins have not only been neglected under BJP rule, but also the misgovernance of the state government is forcing them not to vote for BJP now.
2- Samajwadi Party is becoming Dulari for the Brahmins of Eastern UP.
Akhilesh Yadav has understood that if he fields a Brahmin candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the success rate can increase. The party may get success in bringing together the Brahmins, especially in Eastern UP. This has been clearly seen in the Lok Sabha elections. In Ballia, the public also rejected Neeraj Shekhar, son of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, who was a candidate from BJP, for Samajwadi Party candidate Sanatan Pandey. Bhumihar Brahmin Rajiv Rai, who contested the election from Mau on Samajwadi Party ticket, won. Bhishma Shankar alias Kushal Tiwari also got good public support on Samajwadi Party ticket in Dumariyaganj. Although he could not win the election. Among the prominent Brahmin families of Eastern UP, two families – the family of former Chief Minister Kamlapati Tripathi and the family of Harishankar Tiwari, a prominent leader of Purvanchal – are not with BJP today. Harishankar Tiwari, who was the pivot of Brahmin politics of Purvanchal for almost 3 decades, is no more, but both his sons, former MP Bhishma Shankar and former MLA Vinay Shankar, are with the Samajwadi Party today. Harishankar Tiwari’s birth anniversary is being celebrated on a large scale on 5th August. Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey is going to be the chief guest on this occasion. It clearly means that Mata Prasad Pandey has started his work. Vinay Shankar Tiwari says that the vote of Brahmins on about 60 seats in Purvanchal is going to be decisive in the assembly elections this time.
3- How will the support of Brahmins give edge to Akhilesh Yadav?
There are about 18 percent upper castes in the state, of which more than 10 percent are Brahmins. If Akhilesh Yadav captures even a few percent of the total Brahmin votes, then the story of BJP will end in 2027. Akhilesh’s Brahmin card is being linked to the social engineering of BSP chief Mayawati. BSP, which gave the slogan of ‘Tilak, scales and sword – kill them with shoes four’, gave a new slogan in the 2007 assembly elections. The Brahmin will play the flute and the elephant will climb. BSP also benefited from this and the major vote bank of Brahmins came towards the party. It is believed that now the strategy of Samajwadi Party also depends on that vote bank of Mayawati. The number of backward classes in the population in Uttar Pradesh is 40 percent, which includes Yadav 10 to 12 percent, Kurmi Sainthwar 8 percent, Mallah 5 percent, Lodh 3 percent, Jat 3 percent, Vishwakarma 2 percent, Gurjar 2 percent and other backward castes. It is 7 percent. Apart from this, Scheduled Caste population in the state is 22 percent and Muslim population is 18 percent. The way Samajwadi Party has made a dent in BJP’s core voter OBC castes like Kurmi-Patel, if Brahmin voters also join it, then no one will be able to give competition to Samajwadi Party in the next assembly elections.