Mayawati makes 'pro-Brahmin' pitch; alleges Yogi Adityanath govt 'not following Ram Rajya'

Pitching her party's 'pro-Brahmin' outlook, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Supremo Mayawati, on Saturday, claimed that the present Yogi Adityanath-led government was not following the principles of Ram Rajya. Furthermore, she stated that the Brahmin community was joining BSP after being disillusioned with the 'casteist ways' of BJP. Uttar Pradesh is set to go to polls in 2022.

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Mayawati's 'pro-Brahmin' pitch

She added that BSP had never spoken about 'building a toilet t Babri Masjid site', blaming the BJP for fuelling such rumours to hurt BSP. Moreover, she claimed if such statements were true, her previous BSP govt would have not appointed several Brahmins in ministerial posts. Asserting her support to the Brahmin community, she said that the community would not fall for such rumours.

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Mayawati on Vikas Dubey encounter

Previously in July, amid gangster Vikas Dubey's encounter, the BSP Supremo had asked BJP to 'not instill fear among Brahmins'. She tweeted, "The state government needs to regain public confidence and act on the basis of strong evidence. The  Yogi Adityanath government should not do anything that makes the Brahmin community in the state “scared, terrorised or insecure”. This pro-Brahmin pitch was made by her amid a flaring debate on Dubey - a Brahmin gangster's death.

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Mayawati's pro-Brahmin pitch in 2007

Analysts opine that Mayawati is attempting to recreate his 2007 success, by supporting the Brahmins now. As per reports, Brahmins constitute about 11 percent of the population in Uttar Pradesh. In 2007, Mayawati's pro-Brahmin pitch reportedly consolidated the upper caste votes winning 62 of these 89 reserved seats. With this Brahmin vote, along with her Dalit vote bank, Mayawati had secured a majority by winning 206 of the 403 assembly seats, with a vote share of 30.4 percent - leading to her fourth stint as CM.

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While Mayawati attempts to once again woo the Brahmin voters to her side, she faces a formidable challenge in the Thakur-born Yogi Adityanath. With the consolidation of the Hindu vote behind BJP, BJP won 39.7% vote share in 2017, winning 312 of the 403 seats. This victory was inspite of the BJP not fielding a CM face prior to the elections. In a major boost to its pro-Hindutva sentiment, BJP chose a monk - Yogi Adityanath to head India's largest state which paid off rich dividends as the BJP won 62 seats, while the BSP was reduced to 10 seats.