Jitin Prasada, Congress' Brahmin face in Uttar Pradesh, launches community outreach

Senior Congress leader Jitin Prasada is all set to woo the Brahmins, once the party’s mainstay in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that the community was facing persecution in the state.

Prasada said that through the Brahma Chetna Samvad, an initiative of his outfit Brahman Chetna Parishad, he would try to give voice to the demands, aspirations and suggestions of the community.

“I am not looking at taking anyone’s share of the pie, but only making efforts to ensure that the community gets respect and its due rights,” said the former union minister,who is a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

Ahead of the 2017 assembly elections, Prasada has reached out to the Brahmin community in the state through a series of conferences, but had failed to make an impact as BJP swept the polls.

Brahmins constitute about 13% of the total voters in Uttar Pradesh and are considered to wield influence electorally in the state.

In its heyday, the Congress had a galaxy of Brahmin leaders such as Kamalapati Tripathi, Narain Dutt Tiwari, Govind Vallabh Pant, and Jitin’s father, Jitendra Prasada.

However, as caste politics dominated the state post 1989, the Brahmins moved to the BJP, scheduled castes strengthened the BSP founded by Kanshi Ram, and the OBCs supported Samajwadi Party party established by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

In the 2017 elections, the BJP managed to win over support from a cross section of the society as it went on to win 325 in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly, while Congress managed to win mere seven seats.

Prasada claimed that under the Yogi Adityanath government, the Brahmins were not getting their due and were instead being targeted.

“In the past 20 days, at least 19 persons from the community have died. There is a bias against the community across all platforms, and there is absolutely no help from the government. Even ruling party MLAs and MPs are feeling suffocated,” said Prasada.

Prasada insists that his efforts were not targeted with the 2022 assembly elections in mind, but aimed at giving a voice to the demands of the community that was "feeling persecuted" under the current government.

Through the Brahma Chetna Samvad, Prasada is keen to reach out to the community in each district of Uttar Pradesh through social media and is hoping for a response cutting across party lines.