How big a challenge has Akhilesh Yadav given to BJP through Mata Prasad Pandey?

As soon as Samajwadi Party chief and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav gave the status of leader of opposition in the assembly to Mata Prasad Pandey, there is a ruckus in UP politics. The hyper active supporters of Samajwadi Party on social media feel that by giving the second position in SP to a Brahmin leader, Akhilesh is moving away from the PDA formula (Backward-Dalit-Minority) created by him. Which is not in the interest of the party. But on the other hand, there is no dearth of people who believe that by taking this decision, Akhilesh Yadav has proved that now he has matured in politics. When he bet on non-Yadav candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, it was also said that this could be a blunder for the Samajwadi Party. But the election results show that Akhilesh’s decision was far-sighted. Similarly, by giving the responsibility of an important post like the leader of opposition to a Brahmin leader, Akhilesh Yadav has played such a bet which is going to be very difficult for the BJP.

1- Are Brahmins feeling neglected in BJP?

In the caste equation of UP, Brahmins have been at number three in terms of numbers. After Dalits and Yadavs, Brahmin votes have been decisive in terms of population. But due to political awareness, Brahmins have always been the most influential in the politics of the state. Before the Mandal politics started, most of the Chief Ministers of the state used to be Brahmins. After the fall of Congress, Brahmin voters started leaning towards BJP. This was the reason that in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the 2017 assembly elections, BJP got 72% and 80% Brahmin votes respectively. In 2022, despite all the resentments with the UP government, this trend continued. But in BJP, they did not get the respect that they used to get in Congress.

Till now, none of the BJP CMs in Uttar Pradesh has been Brahmin. The current situation is that neither the UP CM nor the UP BJP President is a Brahmin. There has been so much competition between Brahmins and Rajputs in Uttar Pradesh politics that during Congress rule, one of these two was always the head of the government and the other was the head of the organization. But BJP forgot this. BJP has not made any powerful minister from this community even at the center.

Brahmins have also alleged that the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh took action against Brahmin mafias but the Thakur mafia continued to roam freely. It was also alleged that Thakurs were appointed to important posts in the state. The result of all these allegations was that the Brahmin vote got divided in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Vinay Shankar Tiwari, who was an MLA from Chillupar (Gorakhpur) on a Samajwadi Party ticket, says that Brahmins will come with the Samajwadi Party in large numbers in the upcoming assembly elections. Tiwari says that Brahmins have not only been neglected in the BJP rule, but the misgovernance of the state government is also forcing them not to vote for the BJP now.

2- Samajwadi Party is becoming a darling for Brahmins of eastern UP

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Akhilesh Yadav has understood that if he fields a Brahmin candidate, the success rate can increase. The party can be successful in bringing the Brahmins together, especially in eastern UP. This has been clearly seen in the Lok Sabha elections. In Ballia, the public rejected former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar’s son Neeraj Shekhar, who was a BJP candidate, for Samajwadi Party candidate Sanatan Pandey. Bhumihar Brahmin Rajiv Rai, who contested from Mau on a Samajwadi Party ticket, won. Bhishma Shankar alias Kushal Tiwari also got good public support on a Samajwadi Party ticket in Dumariyaganj. However, he could not win the election. Two families among the powerful Brahmin families of eastern UP – the family of former Chief Minister Kamalapati Tripathi and the family of Harishankar Tiwari, a powerful leader of Purvanchal – are not with the BJP today. Harishankar Tiwari, who was the pivot of Brahmin politics in Purvanchal for nearly 3 decades, is no longer with the BJP, but both his sons, former MP Bhishma Shankar and former MLA Vinayshankar, are with the Samajwadi Party today. Harishankar Tiwari’s birth anniversary is being celebrated on a grand scale on 5 August. Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey is going to be the chief guest on this occasion. It is clear that Mata Prasad Pandey has started his work. Vinay Shankar Tiwari says that the vote of Brahmins on about 60 seats in Purvanchal is going to be decisive in the assembly elections this time.

3- How will the support of Brahmins give Akhilesh Yadav an edge?

There are about 18 percent upper castes in the state, of which more than 10 percent are Brahmins. If Akhilesh Yadav manages to pull even a few percent of the total Brahmin votes, then the story of BJP will end in 2027. Akhilesh’s Brahmin card is being linked to the social engineering of BSP chief Mayawati. BSP, which gave the slogan of Tilak Taraju aur Talwar – Inko Maaro Joote Chaar, gave a new slogan in the 2007 assembly elections. Brahmin Been Bajega, Hathi Chadta Jayega. BSP also got the benefit of this and a large vote bank of Brahmins came towards the party. It is believed that now the strategy of Samajwadi Party is also based on that vote bank of Mayawati. The number of backward classes in the population of Uttar Pradesh is 40 percent, in which Yadavs are 10 to 12 percent, Kurmi Sainthwar 8 percent, Mallah 5 percent, Lodh 3 percent, Jat 3 percent, Vishwakarma 2 percent, Gurjar 2 percent and other backward castes are 7 percent. Apart from this, the Scheduled Caste population in the state is 22 percent and the Muslim population is 18 percent. The way the Samajwadi Party has made inroads into the OBC castes like Kurmi-Patel, the core voters of the BJP, if Brahmin voters also join them, then no one will be able to compete with the Samajwadi Party in the next assembly elections.