Congress eyes 'Brahmin' votes in UP

Seeking desperately to revive its electoral fortunes in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress, by projecting former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit as its chief ministerial candidate, clearly eyes the ‘Brahmin’ vote bank.

UP Congress leaders hailed the decision of the party high command and expressed confidence that Sheila Dixit would be able to attract the ‘Brahmins’, which constituted around 14 per cent of the total electorate in the state.

“It is a good decision...Sheila Dixit has proved that she is capable of ensuring development,” said state Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh though he added that the decision had nothing to do with the “caste politics”.

“Congress does not believe in caste politics,” he remarked. Sources in the state party, however, said that the political strategist Prashant Kishore, who was roped in by the Congress to revive the party in the state, had suggested that a ‘Brahmin’ should either be made the state party president or projected as the chief ministerial candidate.

UP Congress leaders said that the party was working on weaving a ‘Brahmin-Muslim-Dalit’ combination for a win in the state.

The BSP supremo Mayawati had been catapulted to power in the state in 2007 assembly polls riding a similar political equation.

The leaders said that ‘Brhamins” had been traditionally supporters of the Congress though they had shifted to BJP and BSP in the past few decades. They also said that the party currently did not have a “well-known Brahmin” face in UP.

“After N D Tewari we did not have any popular Brahmin leader,” remarked a senior UP leader here.

UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, however, said Sheila Dixit would not be able to revive the Congress in the state.

“It will not make any difference,” Akhilesh quipped in response to a query. BJP too dismissed assertions that Sheila Dixit would be able to win over the ‘Brahmins’. “Congress is finished in UP....no one can revive it,” said state BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak here.