Lok Sabha elections: Mayawati gives lion’s share of seats to Brahmins

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday fielded 25% Brahmin candidates in UP for the Lok Sabha polls due soon, once again falling back on her time-tested Brahmin card to wean them away from the BJP.
She is also not likely to contest the Lok Sabha election this time. As compared to any other castes, Mayawati has given maximum number of tickets to Brahmins in an attempt to not only weaken the BJP but also prevent their swing towards the Congress.
Having finalised the list of candidates for all the 38 constituencies where BSP is to contest, as part of the deal with its coalition partners Samajwadi Party and RLD, the BSP chief on Sunday exhorted the rank and file of the party to fan out in their constituencies.
Barring a few, most of the candidates in the 38 constituencies have been finalised by the BSP, which has made an attempt to recreate the magic of the 2007 social engineering when a Dalit- Brahmin combination had led to an emphatic for the party in the Assembly elections.
The party think-tank feels that with Dalits and Muslims solidly with it, support from OBCs that owe allegiance to SP, and Brahmins, would give BSP a clear edge over BJP and Congress.
Candidates whose names have been almost finalized include Rakesh Pandey (Ambedkarnagar), Nakul Dubey (Sitapur), Kushal Tewari (Khalilabad), Seema Upadhyaya (Fatehpur Sikri), Santosh Tewari (Kaiserganj), Rangnath Mishra (Bhadohi), Ashok Tewari (Pratapgarh) and Ajay Rai — a Bhumihar-Brahmin – from Mau.
Of the eight Brahmin candidates, six are in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
This also makes the task of the party’s Brahmin face Satish Chandra Mishra more challenging. Mishra is a Rajya Sabha member and is credited with bringing Brahmins to the BSP fold since 2007 and playing a strong role in welding Brahmin-Dalit.
Mayawati on Sunday met her party’s co-ordinators – known as the “eyes and ears” of the party chief — zonal heads, MLAs, and other office-bearers, Rajya Sabha members and ex-MPs to brief them on the party’s strategy for Lok Sabha elections.
The BSP chief, in her three-hour long speech on Sunday, divided the party’s organisation into two zones, giving co-ordinators at least three divisions each.