What worked in Milkipur: Backward, Dalit voters shifted towards BJP, Muslim turnout remained low

Ayodhya: The resounding triumph secured by BJP in the Milkipur by-election substantiated that a significant proportion of Backward classes had shifted towards BJP, abandoning their conventional support to Samajwadi Party. Additionally, Muslim, who traditionally support Samajwadi Party en bloc, did not come out in full strength to vote. Former Ayodhya MLA Pawan Pandey failed to rope in the Brahmin voters. In all, SP’s PDA – which worked wonders in 2024 Lok Sabha polls – failed to make an impact for the party in the bypolls.

According to caste statistics, in Milkipur constituency, the Dalit community has a dominant share of 30% of total voters while Yadavs and Muslims constitute 15% each. Apart from it 25% voters belong to upper castes, including Brahmins, Thakurs and Baniyas. The remaining 15% voters are from the most backward classes.

It was a biggest challenge for BJP to dent the Yadav community and mobilise it towards BJP. “The saffron Party silently worked hard on this mission. The party cadre connected with Yadav pradhans, former pradhans from the community and also to those who contested small elections but lost,” said a source. “The main role behind mobilizing Yadavs was played by RSS functionaries and they had been at it for the past six months,” he added.

The Samajwadi Party was also hopeful of getting a sizable portion of Brahmin votes, and it tasked former Ayodhya MLA Pawan Pandey, a close associate of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, for the job. “No doubt Pawan Pandey is connected to the Brahmin community, but he couldn’t swing them towards the Samajwadi Party,” said Ram Adhaar Tiwari, a local priest in Milkipur.

Most importantly, Dalit voters, who form the biggest chunk in Milkipur, opted to vote for BJP. The party cadre managed to swing two major Dalit groups, Pasis and Koris, in their favour.

“When our community observed that they (BJP) has managed a big share from Yadav voters, we too opted to vote for BJP,” said Ram Bodh, a member of Pasi community.

To worsen the prospects for the SP, Muslims, who traditionally support the party en bloc, did not come out in full strength to vote in Milkipur. Maqsud Ali, a Samajwadi Party worker in Ayodhya, said, “We are amazed why Muslims didn’t come out for polling in full strength. We will definitely investigate this because it is a matter of great concern for us.”

Courtesy : TOI

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