JP to carry on Kalyan’s legacy
Mulling naming ous schemes after the er; Asthi Kalash yatra ss UP in the works
After announcing s named after Kalyan Singh rious parts of UP, the ruljp is now mulling naming ous schemes after the y’s tallest OBC leader in the who formed a heady cockof backward politics and utva to head the first BJP rnment in UP in 1991. he Yogi Adityanath governt and the state BJP unit are cted to unveil various initis aimed at building on Kals twin Obc-hindutva conahead of the 2022 UP polls. BCS are expected to play a role in 2022 UP polls. Up nst mainly the Samajwadi y, which also commands lty among OBCS, the BJP d well look to play up the y’s association with their big OBC name - Kalyan h,” said Prof Manuka nna, head of political scidepartment at Lucknow ersity. proposal to name Aligarh ort after the late leader d be put up before chief ster Yogi Adityanath’s cabind ‘Asthi Kalash’ Yatra (a ney with urns containing s of the departed soul) ss the state is also said to be e works. was learnt that preparas were underway to erse Kalyan’s ashes in or rivers of UP, including ga in Varanasi and Saryu in dhya. The ashes would be ered from the banks of ga at Narora, some party ers indicated. Shraddhanabhas (memorial meetings) would be organised across tate, they said. nce his demise, the BJP’S eadership at the centre and e state – from Prime Minisarendra Modi to chief minyogi Adityanath, who rted Kalyan’s mortal ains everywhere for three – paid glowing tributes to who despite his brief fling the Samajwadi Party, was a
“RSS favourite.”
Modi had referred to Kalyan Singh’s name and said the late leader lived up to his name. Kalyan is a Hindi word, meaning ‘welfare’ and in the run up to the 2022 UP polls, several schemes or initiatives with Jan ‘Kalyan’ (people’s welfare) written over them are expected to be announced, party leaders confirmed.
“We are working on that (naming schemes and projects after the late leader),” a UP minister admitted, adding that the late leader’s name and the meaning it carried were such that it could fit into “virtually anything that we undertake.”
Numerically, OBCS are the biggest voting group in the state and that is why in an election year the BJP is planning to connect with OBCS in Kalyan’s name, opined political experts.
Kalyan Singh belonged to the Lodh sub-caste of OBCS.
The BJP has only recently promoted young Rajya Sabha MP BL Verma, a protégé of Kalyan as the union minister of state who was tasked with carrying out one of the seven ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatras’ in the state.
On Tuesday, the BJP’S OBC leaders targeted Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, an OBC too, for not visiting personally to bid adieu to the “biggest OBC leader.”
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, BJP’S OBC face in UP – who announced plan to name several roads in the state after Kalyan Singh, agreed.
“We may have ideological differences in politics but there are some common courtesies which SP and even Congress didn’t care to show. That’s pathetic,” said Maurya.
UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh, who too is an OBC, targeted the SP chief too. “He couldn’t travel barely a kilometer to pay tribute to the biggest backward leader. Is it due to vote bank concerns,” the state BJP chief asked.
Akhilesh Yadav had conveyed his condolences on the demise of Kalyan Singh describing him as a “great administrator” who would be missed. BSP chief Mayawati had visited the Mall Avenue residence of Kalyan Singh’s grandson Sandip to pay her last respects to the departed soul. PM Narendra Modi, defence minister Rajnath and BJP chief JP Nadda flew down to Lucknow to pay respects to the departed leader.