LUCKNOW: Political parties are blowing the bugle for what would be UP’s first election since the resolution of the Ram Temple dispute, but this fact poses no hindrance for them in creating momentum for polls by whipping religious sentiments among their cadres.
While AIMIM chief Asauddin Owaisi took on the Samajwadi Party for using Muslims as voters, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), in a major strategy shift, invoked Hindu gods and goddesses amid changing of Jai Siyaram, apparently to counter BJP’s ‘ Jai Shri Ram’. Notably, BSP president Mayawati was given a trishul(trident) – a weapon associated with Lord Shiva.
AIMIM is planning to contest elections as part of a coalition of smaller parties to woo Muslims, who account for 19% of the state’s population.
Like 2007, BSP is trying to win over Brahmins, who, according to the party general secretary SC Mishra, form 15% of the state’s population and have been facing “atrocities in the last four-and-a-half years of the Yogi Adityanath government”. BSP has changed its strategy by invoking Hindu gods and goddesses. In the presence of a decent gathering at the BSP state headquarters at12, Mall Avenue, Mayawati made an appearance on Tuesday to speak about the party’s strategy in the run up to the assembly elections.
She said the mandal coordinators and district presidents would be given the task to bring at least 1,000 Brahmins into the party fold in each of the 403 assembly constituencies.
Earlier, Mayawati was welcomed by Vedic students who blew conch shells and chanted Sanskrit shlokas. SC Mishra gifted her a trishulon the dais and invoked Hindu gods and goddesses during his address.
Besides the chants of ‘ Jai Siyaram’, slogans like ‘Haathi nahiGaneshhai, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh hai’ and ‘ Brahman shankh bajaayega, haathi badhta jaayega’, that reverberated the air in 2007, were back in reckoning during Tuesday’s meeting.
Mishra said the BJP talked only about Lord Ram forgetting goddess Sita. “They don’t believe in respecting women, that is why they don’t talk about goddess Sita and goddess Parvati,” he said.
According to political analysts, BJP’s aggressive Hindutva agenda has forced other political parties to change their strategy. They said the parties would have to rework their poll plan to counter BJP’s Hindutva agenda. Speaking on BSP’s stand, a senior BJP leader said: “We are doing our work, let them do theirs.”
Meanwhile, Owaisi said AIMIM was trying to forge alliance with other parties when asked as to why he was seeking votes in the name of Muslims only.
