BJP to use Jitin Prasada to 'douse' Brahmin 'anger' in Uttar Pradesh

Former Congress leader Jitin Prasada, who joined the saffron party on Wednesday, could come in handy for the BJP to douse anger in the electorally-influential Brahmin community against the party in Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly polls are scheduled to be held nine months later.

Prasada, who had formed an outfit 'Brahmin Chetna Parishad' to launch a campaign for justice for the community, however, may find the going tough, given the 'pro-thakur' image of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and also as the campaign was against the current dispensation.

In fact the Congress had, in a bid to promote 'Brahmin' leaders from UP, made Prasada a special invitee to the CWC. He had also undertaken a 'yatra' in different parts of the state to highlight 'atrocities' on the Brahmins and 'expose' the BJP. He had also visited the 'Brahmin' families, whose members had been murdered in the past few months.

Read | Big jolt for Congress as Jitin Prasada quits party ahead of Uttar Pradesh polls

Prasada had also taken up the issue of arrest of Khushi Dubey, the wife of slain gangster Vikas Dubey's brother, and had lashed out at the Adityanath government demanding her immediate release.

He had also sought to link the encounter of Vikas Dubey with the killings of the members of the community since the formation of the BJP government in the state in March 2017.

BJP was pushed on the defensive after its own leaders had voiced concern over 'persecution' of the Brahmins under the current dispensation.

A BJP legislator from Lambhua assembly seat in Sultanpur district, about 150 kilometres from here, Deomani Dwivedi, who hailed from the 'Brahmin' community, had sought to know from the state government about its future plan to ensure the community's security. The legislator also wanted to know about the number of 'Brahmin' murdered in the state since the BJP came to power in UP and in how many cases the police were able to arrest the culprits.

'Brahmins' who formed around ten per cent of the electorate in the state, were a deciding factor on around a dozen Lok Sabha and over 50 assembly seats.