<p>Lucknow: Although the next <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/assembly-election">assembly polls</a> in Uttar Pradesh is still a year away, the battle among the opposition parties for the votes of the Brahmin community, which is considered to be unhappy with the BJP, has already started. BSP supremo Mayawati taking the lead announced the candidature of Ashish Pandey, a Brahmin, from Madhogarh assembly seat in Jalaun district.</p><p>Mayawati’s choice of a Brahmin candidate is being seen as an attempt to revive her ‘social engineering’ (bringing Brahmins and Dalits together) formula in the state, which had helped her reap rich electoral dividends in the 2007 assembly elections in the state and catapult her party to power. </p>.Brahmin ‘disillusionment’ in UP triggers unease in BJP.<p>Mayawati had earlier hinted that her party would give tickets to Brahmins in "good numbers" and had also said that they would be given due respect in her party.</p><p>The Samajwadi Party (SP), BJP’s main rival in the state, has also made a similar offer to the Brahmins.</p><p>SP president Akhilesh Yadav has been making attempts to make inroads into this community, considered to be the core vote bank of the BJP, through senior party leaders like Mata Prasad Pandey and others.</p><p>Akhilesh had also extended support to Swami Avimukteshwaranand after he was prevented from proceeding toward Ganga for the sacred dip during the recently concluded ‘Magh Mela’ at Prayagraj and his disciples were allegedly assaulted by the police.</p><p>Apparently wary of the perceived resentment in the Brahmin community arising out of the alleged use of force against ‘Brahmin batuks’ (celibate Hindu children receiving vedic education at gurukulas), all disciples of Avimukteshwaranand, the BJP has launched damage control exercise.</p><p>Brahmins had supported the BJP in large numbers in the 2022 assembly polls and any division in their support could prove to be costly for the saffron party. </p><p>Videos that surfaced on social media purportedly showed the police dragging the 'batuks' by their ‘shikha’ (a traditional tuft of hair kept on the crown of the head by Brahmins serving as a symbol of devotion) triggering a massive backlash from the community members across the country.</p><p>Brahmins form around 10 per cent of the total electorate in the state and they play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the polls in around two dozen districts in Purvanchal, Avadh and Bundelkhand regions.</p>
<p>Lucknow: Although the next <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/assembly-election">assembly polls</a> in Uttar Pradesh is still a year away, the battle among the opposition parties for the votes of the Brahmin community, which is considered to be unhappy with the BJP, has already started. BSP supremo Mayawati taking the lead announced the candidature of Ashish Pandey, a Brahmin, from Madhogarh assembly seat in Jalaun district.</p><p>Mayawati’s choice of a Brahmin candidate is being seen as an attempt to revive her ‘social engineering’ (bringing Brahmins and Dalits together) formula in the state, which had helped her reap rich electoral dividends in the 2007 assembly elections in the state and catapult her party to power. </p>.Brahmin ‘disillusionment’ in UP triggers unease in BJP.<p>Mayawati had earlier hinted that her party would give tickets to Brahmins in "good numbers" and had also said that they would be given due respect in her party.</p><p>The Samajwadi Party (SP), BJP’s main rival in the state, has also made a similar offer to the Brahmins.</p><p>SP president Akhilesh Yadav has been making attempts to make inroads into this community, considered to be the core vote bank of the BJP, through senior party leaders like Mata Prasad Pandey and others.</p><p>Akhilesh had also extended support to Swami Avimukteshwaranand after he was prevented from proceeding toward Ganga for the sacred dip during the recently concluded ‘Magh Mela’ at Prayagraj and his disciples were allegedly assaulted by the police.</p><p>Apparently wary of the perceived resentment in the Brahmin community arising out of the alleged use of force against ‘Brahmin batuks’ (celibate Hindu children receiving vedic education at gurukulas), all disciples of Avimukteshwaranand, the BJP has launched damage control exercise.</p><p>Brahmins had supported the BJP in large numbers in the 2022 assembly polls and any division in their support could prove to be costly for the saffron party. </p><p>Videos that surfaced on social media purportedly showed the police dragging the 'batuks' by their ‘shikha’ (a traditional tuft of hair kept on the crown of the head by Brahmins serving as a symbol of devotion) triggering a massive backlash from the community members across the country.</p><p>Brahmins form around 10 per cent of the total electorate in the state and they play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the polls in around two dozen districts in Purvanchal, Avadh and Bundelkhand regions.</p>