Sheila Dikshit, the Congress’ chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh, has intensified her campaign for the 2017 State Assembly elections. And as part of drawing her connection to the State, she will visit Unnao on Sunday and pay tribute to her father-in-law Uma Shankar Dikshit.
Not only was Uma Shankar Dikshit a former Cabinet minister, he was also a prominent Brahmin leader from the State. He belonged to Unnao, and a part of her strategy would be to associate with the district, which adjoins Lucknow.
Brahmin vote bankThe Congress has left no stone unturned in accentuating Ms. Dikshit’s Brahmin connections, as it hopes to revive its old vote bank in a State where it has been on the margins for almost three decades.
According to the 1931 caste census, Brahmins compromise nine percent of the State’s population and are considered a key segment in influencing opinion during elections. Congress U.P. communication department vice-chairman Virendra Madan said Ms. Dikshit would pay floral tributes to her late father-in-law and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri in Unnao. “She will then inaugurate a Congress Seva Dal camp in the district before taking part in other local functions,” Mr. Madan said.
Ms. Dikshit will also camp in the State capital for a couple of days. Getting active in UP, Ms. Dikshit recently led a three-day bus Yatra from New Delhi to Kanpur, to push the party’s campaign revolving around the slogan “27 saal UP behaal,” a reference to the number of years the Congress has been out of power in U.P.
