BJP asks cadres not to target Maya during its Dalit outreach

LUCKNOW : In a politically significant move, the BJP has decided not to speak anything against BSP chief Mayawati and her mentor Kanshiram during its ongoing ₹Basti Sampark Abhiyan’ -the campaign that envisages reaching out to Dalitdominated villages across the state.

Highly placed sources said that the saffron leadership has issued a directive to its functionaries asking them to exercise utmost caution while making any reference to the BSP chief during the campaign which aims to touch around 2000 prominent villag- es having a sizable population of SC community. The campaign, which was initially proposed for a week and was scheduled to culminate on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, has now been extended till December.

Confirming the development, UP BJP SC Morcha president Ram Chandra Kannaujia said that the party workers have been asked to highlight only BJP ideology instead of carrying out a “negative” campaign against “anyone”. While Kannaujia refused to comment further, sources said that the morcha functionaries have been categorically told that Mayawati held a “special place” in the collective psyche of Dalits. “And it should not be disturbed,” said a senior BJP leader.

“It is true that the Dalit community has traditionally shown special allegiance to Kanshiram and Mayawati. Speaking against them could potentially annoy them which may also be detrimental for the BJP,” said a senior state BJP leader.

He said that the primary aim of Basti Sampark Abhiyan campaign was to take feedback from the socially downtrodden community about the welfare measures initiated by the BJP government at the Centre and the state. “The workers have been asked to speak only about the achievements of our party leaders like PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath,” he maintained.

As a matter of fact, the BJP has asked its key leaders, including many of the upper caste MPs, MLAs and the party state leaders to coordinate with the SC morcha which happens to be at the forefront of the campaign.

The development, political experts said, could be a sharp pointer to BJP’s renewed strategy to win over the SC community which forms around 21% of the electorate in UP.

This also comes days after the BJP faced a crushing defeat at the hands of SP in the Ghosi bypoll in which BSP did not contest. While BSP leadership had asked its core voters to refrain from voting, results indicated that Dalit voters may have drifted to the SP, a key constituent of the opposition coalition, INDIA.

Experts said BJP sought to tread cautiously vis-à-vis Dalits especially after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav spun his PDA narrative to take on the saffron rival in the run-up to 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Courtesy : TOI

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