JOIN USThe BJP has decided to field its Dalit leaders to counter Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, who has made it clear that her party will make Daya Shankar Singh’s objectionable remarks against her an issue in the 2017 Assembly elections.
The sources said the saffron party will also rope in former aides of Mayawati, who had crossed over to the BJP in the last few months. Sources said that newly inducted Union minister Krishna Raj, former Union minister Ram Shankar Katheria and other Dalit MPs from the state have been asked to reach out to the community in the rural areas to “blunt” Mayawati’s attack on the BJP.
The Dalit leaders would be travelling to the villages across the state and meet the community leaders and apprise them of the welfare works undertaken by the Narendra Modi government and reiterate the BJP’s commitment to them.
Former Mayawati aide Jugal Kishore, who joined the BJP a few months ago, would also undertake similar visits, sources said. Sources also said that the BJP was trying to portray Mayawati as a leader who did not bother about the humiliation suffered by women. “The BSP leaders’ attack on Daya Shankar’s wife Swati Singh and her daughter will be used for this purpose,” a senior state BJP leader told DH.
The BJP leader said that the saffron party would continue to corner Mayawati with its “beti ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein” (BJP on the streets to protect respect for daughters) slogan. The party was not leaving any stone unturned to make its proposed protest in the state capital on Thursday a big success.