Political parties busy turning caste equations into votes in UP

Keeping in mind the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, members of all castes and communities are holding meetings in order to present a united front before all parties and demand an adequate compensation for their support. Similarly, the political parties too, are promising the world to these communities in order to convert them into guaranteed voters.

The BJP is experimenting on bringing both the Brahmins and the Dalits into its camp, which was probably the reason why RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat chose to have lunch at the house of a Dalit while on a visit to Agra during the BSP chief Mayawati's rally. Also, with the convenor of Mayawati's Agra rally Brajesh Pathak joining the BJP, it has sent a loud signal that Mayawati is losing the Brahmin support crucial for her to win the elections.

FOCUS ON DALIT AND MUSLIM VOTE

However, both Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav seem to be not bothered by the loss of upper caste votes and are focusing to bring as many Dalit and Muslim votes into their camp as possible. The Samajwadi Party is desperate for Muslim votes as it was the Muslim voters who sent the Samajwadi Party to the top of the vote tally in the 2012 UP assembly elections. But the Muslims believe that they did not receive adequate compensation for their support of SP in the elections and are now bending towards the BSP, seeking solace.

Mayawati too has chosen 130 Muslim candidates for the 2017 elections in UP, seeking the total annihilation of the Samajwadi party through a Dalit-Muslim unified front. Fully aware that she has lost the Brahmin support, Mayawati has halved the Brahmin quota of tickets this time. In 2007, this number of tickets was 80, while in 2012 it had come down to 74, but this time there are about 30 seats where Brahmins are likely to be the BSP candidates despite the fact that Brahmins form 14 per cent of the state's population.

BSP zonal coordinator Sunil Kumar Chittod told India Today that its party believes in giving tickets on the basis of vote-gathering capacity of a candidate instead of the candidate's caste. Although Brajesh Pathak, who recently defected from the BSP said that Brahmins were being totally neglected in the party and they will show Mayawati their true strength in the elections.

BSP's second-in-command Naseemuddin Siddiqui is also toiling day and night to canvas among the Muslims and make them support Mayawati instead of Samajwadi Party in an election which will decide the political futures of not just Mulayam Singh and Mayawati, but also Rahul Gandhi and PM Narendra Modi.