To counter the dalit conclaves being organised by the Congress, BJP and SP, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh has decided to opt for “mohalla meetings” in the urban areas as well as the r
To counter the dalit conclaves being organised by the Congress, BJP and SP, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh has decided to opt for “mohalla meetings” in the urban areas as well as the rural interiors.
These meetings will be held in localities in the urban centres and at the booth level in the villages. The defunct “bhaichara committees” are also being revived across the state though brahmin leaders have been asked to remain in the background.
In these meetings, which will comprise two to three dozen dalits at a time, the party will make an effort to initiate a dialogue with the participants, hear their grievances, if any, against the BSP and clarify doubts. The focus will be on warning dalits against efforts to divide their community.
“Till now, we had held meetings which were mainly a one-way communication with the people of Bahujan Samaj but now we are initiating a dialogue so that we can know where we went wrong and also invite suggestions from our people. This two-way communication will also help us dispel doubts that are being spread by rival parties,” said a former BSP minister.
The BSP is aware that its dalit vote bank is being arduously wooed by rival parties and efforts are being made to mount a multi-pronged attack on the BSP leadership.
According to party sources, the biggest grouse that the dalits have against Ms Mayawati is her inaccessibility.
“Yes, people want her to be more accessible but we are telling out people about the threat perception she faces which restricts her mobility. We are also impressing upon them that Ms Mayawati’s sole concern is the empowerment of dalits and carrying forward the mission of late Kanshi Ram,” the former minister said.
Significantly, non-BSP leaders in recent months have been accusing that Ms Mayawati is straying from the ideology of Dr Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram.
Former aides of Ms Mayawati like Jugal Kishore (now in BJP) , Babu Singh Kushwaha who heads the Jan Adhikar Manch and Daddu Prasad who has launched Bahujan Mukti Party, have launched campaigns against the BSP president. Though these campaigns are being run individually at the moment, chances of their coming together on one platform before the assembly elections cannot be ruled out.
The BSP, aware of these developments, is keen to fortify itself and prevent its core vote bank form slipping to other pastures — like it did in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
