BJP asks its UP cadre to woo dalits & OBCs

If regional outfits in Uttar Pradesh — the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party —are now reaching out to upper castes’ vote bank, considered the core vote bank of the BJP, the state’s ruling party has tasked its cadre to make sure that dalits and OBCs in the pollgoing state continue supporting it to achieve its target of Mission 300-Plus.

The BJP had won 312 seats out of total 403 Assembly constituencies in the 2017 Assembly elections and formed its government in this politically crucial state after a gap of 14 years.

During his meetings with BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh, party president J.P. Nadda made a special mention that party leaders and cadres should reach out to the maximum number of dalit villages and bastis and also to the

OBCs. While dalits, mainly Jatavs, are considered the core vote bank of the Mayawati-led BSP, the OBCs, primarily Yadavs, have been backing the SP, headed by Akhilesh Yadav. However, since 2014, the non-Jatavs and non-Yadavs have come out in massive support of the BJP in the state. While the OBCs constitute nearly 43-45 per cent of the state’s total population, the dalits are at 21 per cent. In the last Assembly polls, the SP had won 47 seats and the BSP had managed just 19 seats.

Keeping in mind the caste arithmetic, the BJP will be launching mass contact programmes for target groups and sections, starting with a “booth vijay” campaign on August 23. The BJP leaders and cadre will be highlighting the “people centric” initiatives taken by the Yogi Adityanath government in the state and also the various measures taken by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

From August 10 to August 20, the BJP has decided to hold meetings of its leaders and office bearers in all 403 Assembly constituencies. The BJP will be holding nearly 120 different programmes to reach out to the people and also to keep its cadre battle ready for the Assembly polls, which are due early next year.