The Samajwadis, it seems, have begun to believe in the dictum that if you can’t beat them, join them.
The Samajwadis, it seems, have begun to believe in the dictum that if you can’t beat them, join them. Samajwadi Party members in Faizabad and Ayodhya have launched a new campaign under which they are distributing copies of the Bhagwad Gita to members of the Hindu community, including saints and seers.
Party leaders in Faizabad, have been dabbling in the Hindutva brand of politics in the district since the part two months with their local leaders organising religious programmes which included a 77-day yagna for the good health of party president Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The initiative reaped good results and the party managed to retain the Bikapur Assembly seat in the recent byelections.
“This is not a change of ideology but a case of ‘In Rome, do as Romans do’. If you are living in this holy town, you cannot disengage yourself from religious activities. Rituals, community feasts, ‘havans’ and ‘yagyas’ are a part of everyday life here and even Muslims accept this. We have finally decided to go with the tide and the results were visible in the byelections,” said a local SP leader.
The district SP president of Faizabad, Jai Shankar Pandey, said, “We wanted to reach out to sadhus and saints because the community has always remained at a distance from us. We decided to organise a 77-day ‘yagna’ for Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and this gave us an opportunity to work together with the saints and seers. We have no qualms in working with them on issues related to communal harmony and peace.”
The distribution of Bhagwad Gita among Hindus in the district is an attempt to repair the divide that has existed between the Samajwadis and the Hindu population since the 1990 firing on ‘karsevaks’. The Samajwadi Party has been perceived as anti-Hindu following its posture in the Ayodhya movement. A former office-bearer of the Samajwadi Brahman Sabha, Dr Ashish Pandey, said, “In first three months, we have the target of approaching 10,000 families and gifting them copies of the Bhagwad Gita to inspire them to take the path of socialism. We are also trying to connect with the Hindu youth and prove that the BJP has been misguiding them since the past two and a half decades.”
A seer in the Hanuman Garhi, however, said that the Samajwadi Party would have to do much more than distributing copies of Bhagwad Gita, to prove that they have Hindu interests at heart.
“Whether it is offering compensation or protection, the Samajwadi Party has always shown a preference for the minority community. They will have to change their mindset if they want Hindu votes but I am glad that a beginning has been made,” he said.
