Brahmins angry with Bhartiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh, particularly in central and eastern parts of the state, are in a dilemma. The community is upset with the BJP and is accusing it of insulting top Brahmin leaders in the state. But they also admit that they are faced with a There Is no Alternative syndrome. Brahmins feel that the BJP is now dominated by non Brahmins a Thakur (Rajnath Singh) OBC (Narendra Modi) combine and all senior Brahmin leaders have either been sidelined or cut to size.

“The BJP was once known as a proBrahmin political outfit but see the plight of Brahmin leaders in the prevailing circumstances. Dr Murli Manohar Joshi was forced to give up his Varanasi seat and shift to Kanpur. Kalraj Misra was sent to contest the Deoria seat much against his wishes. Senior party leader Kesri Nath Tripathi was asked to contest elections from Allahabad and then his name was deleted without even an apology and the ticket was given to Shyama Charan Gupta, known to be the financer of slain dacoit Dadua. In Unnao, Hriday Narain Dixit was ignored and dumped in favor of a ‘tainted’ Sakshi Maharaj,” said a senior Brahmin leader of the BJP.

Some of these Brahmin leaders were reportedly preparing to join other parties but were stopped from doing so during elections by the RSS members who felt this would cast a shadow on the party’s prospects.The anger of Brahmins within the BJP is rising and most of the party leaders in Lucknow and some other constituencies have withdrawn into their shells.

For instance, BJP president Rajnath Singh’s campaign is being managed by his own family members and the local Brahmin leaders of the party are conspicuous by their absence. Even the attempts being made to revive the “Atal factor” in the BJP UP campaign has not cut much ice with the community. “Since Mr Vajpayee retired in 2009, none of these BJP leaders ever bothered about him. Now they see him as a vote catcher and are staging gimmicks,” said a former BJP state president.