<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->What he means to say is that groups which were prepared to respond as Hindus felt so betrayed by the BJP that resorted to default positions based on caste or other factors.
Post Babri demolition there was nationwide Hindu upsurge and caste factor had vanished even in UP. But the heat generated by this upsurge frightened the sangh parivar when it should have been inspired. Kalyan Singh was a Hindu leader accepted by Rajputs as well as Dalits. Yet BJP projected him as an OBC leader. Mulayam won the elections. BJP's dog days began. But for this crooked action Mulayam and Mayawati would have vanished into oblivion long back. Hindus disintegrated into their sub identities like Yadavs Lodhs Ahirs and Dalits <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
According to the above, it would be unqise to project Modi as OBC leader. Better to project as non-brahmin and non-elite, and leave it intentionally vague. The following is what BJP has to counter in UP:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BDMâs return changed Cong fortune in UP
Preetam Srivastava | Lucknow
Brahmins, Dalits and Muslims (BDM) â the traditional vote bank of the Congress party, returning to it at the hustings, has raised the heckles of the regional parties â the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party.
Soon after the poll results, the honchos of the two regional majors (read Mayawati and Mulayam Singh) were overzealous in extending the ânot-neededâ support to the Congress in the name of secularism.
But they forgot it was the same Congress from which they had desisted from forging a pre-poll alliance presuming it to be âdeadwoodâ.
But time is a great healer. And the Congress emerged as a phoenix from its political debris in the countryâs most volatile state sending alarm bells ringing for the two regional heavyweights.
No wonder, the Congress bagged seats in âBDMâ dominated regions causing setbacks to the BSP and SP in their respective pocket burroughs.
The poll results, which reflected a clear paradigm shift, smeared egg on the BSPâs face as its much-touted social engineering formula flopped.
The return of the BDM voters to the grand old party increased its vote share from 8.44 per cent in the last Assembly polls to about 20 per cent in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
In 90 per cent seats that the Congress won, the party candidate had little support from his own caste which again points towards a shift in the voters psyche of rising above caste and religion lines for issue-based politics.
Probably, the biggest setback for the BSP was the victory of bureaucrat-turned politician and Congress candidate PL Puniya from Barabanki.
The seat had 5.31 lakh upper caste voters which was dominated by 1.65 lakhs Brahmin.
Besides, there were 5.40 lakh Backward class voters, 5.5 lakh Dalits and 4.20 lakhs Muslim voters.
Not only the Dalits and Muslims voted decisively for Punia but even a sizeable upper caste votes also went his way.
On the reserved seat of Bahraich, Congress candidate Kamal Kishore was not only supported by a large chunk of five lakh Dalit voters but also the two lakh strong Brahmin voters and three lakh Muslim voters.
In Faizabad, Congress candidate Nirmal Khatri was able to garner the five lakh upper caste voter, 2.5 lakh Backward class votes, 3.6 lakh Dalit and 2.10 lakh Muslims votes.
Similarly, in Unnao, first timer Annu Tandon managed to garner the support of the majority of the Dalits, Brahmins, Backward class and Muslim voters to win by a record margin of over three lakh votes.
In Sultanpur and Pratapgarh, Dr Sanjay Singh and Rani Ratna Singh â both Thakurs, got able support from Brahmins, Dalits and Muslims which comprise 60 per cent of the total votes.
Similar was the scene in Kanpur and Akbarpur segments. The victorious candidates Shree Prakash Jaiswal (a vaishya) and Raja Rampal (gadariya) won the polls negating the caste combination.
In Shrawasti, Dumriyaganj, Maharajganj and Kushninagar, Brahmins, Dalits and Muslims accounted for more than 50 per cent votes but they preferred Congressâ Vinay Pandey in Shrawasti (Brahmin) Jagdambika Pal and Harshwardhan Singh (both Thakurs) and RPN Singh (Kurmi) from Dumariyaganj, Maharajganj and Kushinagar seats respectively.
In Moradabad and Bareilly too, Mohammed Azharudin (Muslim) and Praveen Aron (vaishya) sailed through. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Post Babri demolition there was nationwide Hindu upsurge and caste factor had vanished even in UP. But the heat generated by this upsurge frightened the sangh parivar when it should have been inspired. Kalyan Singh was a Hindu leader accepted by Rajputs as well as Dalits. Yet BJP projected him as an OBC leader. Mulayam won the elections. BJP's dog days began. But for this crooked action Mulayam and Mayawati would have vanished into oblivion long back. Hindus disintegrated into their sub identities like Yadavs Lodhs Ahirs and Dalits <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
According to the above, it would be unqise to project Modi as OBC leader. Better to project as non-brahmin and non-elite, and leave it intentionally vague. The following is what BJP has to counter in UP:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BDMâs return changed Cong fortune in UP
Preetam Srivastava | Lucknow
Brahmins, Dalits and Muslims (BDM) â the traditional vote bank of the Congress party, returning to it at the hustings, has raised the heckles of the regional parties â the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party.
Soon after the poll results, the honchos of the two regional majors (read Mayawati and Mulayam Singh) were overzealous in extending the ânot-neededâ support to the Congress in the name of secularism.
But they forgot it was the same Congress from which they had desisted from forging a pre-poll alliance presuming it to be âdeadwoodâ.
But time is a great healer. And the Congress emerged as a phoenix from its political debris in the countryâs most volatile state sending alarm bells ringing for the two regional heavyweights.
No wonder, the Congress bagged seats in âBDMâ dominated regions causing setbacks to the BSP and SP in their respective pocket burroughs.
The poll results, which reflected a clear paradigm shift, smeared egg on the BSPâs face as its much-touted social engineering formula flopped.
The return of the BDM voters to the grand old party increased its vote share from 8.44 per cent in the last Assembly polls to about 20 per cent in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
In 90 per cent seats that the Congress won, the party candidate had little support from his own caste which again points towards a shift in the voters psyche of rising above caste and religion lines for issue-based politics.
Probably, the biggest setback for the BSP was the victory of bureaucrat-turned politician and Congress candidate PL Puniya from Barabanki.
The seat had 5.31 lakh upper caste voters which was dominated by 1.65 lakhs Brahmin.
Besides, there were 5.40 lakh Backward class voters, 5.5 lakh Dalits and 4.20 lakhs Muslim voters.
Not only the Dalits and Muslims voted decisively for Punia but even a sizeable upper caste votes also went his way.
On the reserved seat of Bahraich, Congress candidate Kamal Kishore was not only supported by a large chunk of five lakh Dalit voters but also the two lakh strong Brahmin voters and three lakh Muslim voters.
In Faizabad, Congress candidate Nirmal Khatri was able to garner the five lakh upper caste voter, 2.5 lakh Backward class votes, 3.6 lakh Dalit and 2.10 lakh Muslims votes.
Similarly, in Unnao, first timer Annu Tandon managed to garner the support of the majority of the Dalits, Brahmins, Backward class and Muslim voters to win by a record margin of over three lakh votes.
In Sultanpur and Pratapgarh, Dr Sanjay Singh and Rani Ratna Singh â both Thakurs, got able support from Brahmins, Dalits and Muslims which comprise 60 per cent of the total votes.
Similar was the scene in Kanpur and Akbarpur segments. The victorious candidates Shree Prakash Jaiswal (a vaishya) and Raja Rampal (gadariya) won the polls negating the caste combination.
In Shrawasti, Dumriyaganj, Maharajganj and Kushninagar, Brahmins, Dalits and Muslims accounted for more than 50 per cent votes but they preferred Congressâ Vinay Pandey in Shrawasti (Brahmin) Jagdambika Pal and Harshwardhan Singh (both Thakurs) and RPN Singh (Kurmi) from Dumariyaganj, Maharajganj and Kushinagar seats respectively.
In Moradabad and Bareilly too, Mohammed Azharudin (Muslim) and Praveen Aron (vaishya) sailed through. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->