Maya targeted as BJP rolls out dalit connect
LUCKNOW: The BJP dug up the infamous guest house incident of 1995 of when BSP chief Mayawati was targeted by Samajwadi Party workers and saved by an upper caste BJP leader Brahmdutt Dwivedi in Lucknow to connect with Jatavs, the Dalit subcaste to which Maya belongs.
The occasion was the launch of the BJP’s Dalit-connect series from Wednesday. Terms like ‘noton ki maala’ (garland of notes) and ‘daulat ki beti’ (the daughter of wealth) were also freely used. Mayawati had once been presented with a garland of currency notes by her supporters that she wore at a public function in Lucknow.
Political experts see BJP’s attack as confirmation of a likely political understanding between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. “It does indicate that SP-BSP coalition is on track and that’s why the BJP has stepped up attack on Mayawati,” said Athar Husain of the Center of Objective Research and Development. Aware that building association with this group wasn’t easy, the BJP leaders spoke of how BJP saved Mayawati and helped her become UP CM twice.
The BJP got its Brahmin state chief Mahendra Nath Pandey to even share details of how he had misgivings about dalits earlier.
“I remember that I had once stopped going to RSS shakha when I came to know that one Panna Lalji, with whom I shared jalebis after the shakha, was a dalit. It was here that RSS leadership instilled in me the importance of social harmony,” Pandey told the gathering.
Interestingly, on the eve of the Dalit meet, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had announced that a Ram temple statue would come up in Shringverpur along with that of Nishadraj, a member of riverine community who Hindus believe helped Lord Ram cross the river.
Ram was an upper caste while Nishadraj was a backward and by announcing statues featuring the two, the BJP made its message and focus on ‘samajik samarasta’ (social harmony) clear, a BJP leader said. “We helped her become chief minister but gradually her greed forced her away from the ideals of Ambedkar and Kanshiram,” Pandey said.
“Despite string of electoral reverses, Mayawati draws crowd for her rallies, it’s largely because of her ability to rally around Jatavs,” a BJP leader said. Connecting with this Dalit subcaste was even more important ahead of a tie up between the BSP and the Samajwadi Party. The party had selected 10 Jatavs from each district for its meet.