BJP’s all-caste push in UP in run up to the assembly elections

Recently, eight out of nine new medical colleges in UP, set up with an investment of Rs 2,319 crore bear names clearly chosen with local caste and religious equations in mind. (Image: PTI)

Months before the crucial UP-assembly elections, BJP’s all caste push, with special emphasis on Other Backward Castes (OBC), is gaining momentum.

The forward movement is all encompassing. It includes holding over 200 caste rallies throughout the state to woo OBC voters. The rallies, which began around Navaratri, will continue till the end of November, when the festival season comes to an end.

``Elections is a game of numbers and it is clear now that virtually half of the population in UP – and indeed India – is OBC. BJP’s social engineering, from a Brahman-Baniya upper caste party to a political party of backwards, is complete. It has managed to sew together a coalition of more than 200 OBCs in UP, which no party ever thought was possible, awarding them with ministerial berths and other government perks,’’ says political commentator, Amitabh Tewari.

Naming and renaming is a favourite tool of the ruling BJP. Recently, eight out of nine new medical colleges in UP, set up with an investment of Rs 2,319 crore and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, bear names clearly chosen with local caste and religious equations in mind.

The latest attempt comes two months after the Yogi government had decided to name a new university in Aligarh after the Jat King, Mahendra Pratap Singh, who for all practical purposes was as far removed from the old Jan Sangh ideology as the Left is from the Right.

The other names are not necessarily backward castes, but represent a melange of all castes, which is significant to the prospects of the BJP in UP seeking to build a rainbow coalition.

Naming marathon

The Madhav Prasad Tripathi Medical College in Siddharth Nagar is named after a BJP veteran by that name. Tripathi was the first state president of the party in UP, who helped establish the BJP, particularly in eastern UP. He was an MLA from the late 1960s to the 1970s and was elected the MP from Dumariyaganj in 1977. The naming of the college after him comes with an eye on the Brahmin vote.

The Sone Lal Patel Medical College, Pratapgarh, is named after Apna Dal, the party founded by Patel, which banks on the backward and influential Kurmi votes of eastern UP. Part of the ruling coalition at the Centre, the Apna Dal has tied up with the BJP for the 2022 polls as well.

In the latest Cabinet reshuffle, the BJP gave a ministerial berth to Sone Lal Patel’s daughter, Anupriya Patel.

Next on the line is the Virangana Avantibai Lodhi Medical College, Etah, named after a freedom fighter. In the region surrounding Etah, where the backward Lodhi Rajputs are dominant, the BJP recently lost its popular Lodhi face, former CM Kalyan Singh, whose son Rajveer represents Etah in Lok Sabha.

Next on the list is to woo the powerful Thakurs, many of whom are in the BJP camp anyway. The Jodha Singh and Dariyao Singh Medical College, Fatehpur, named after two 1857 mutineers and the Umanath Singh Medical College, Jaunpur, christened after a former Jana Sangh leader, are attempts to further consolidate the Thakur vote bank.

The Maa Vindhyavasini Medical College, Mirzapur, is named after Goddess Vindhyavasini, whose temple is a revered pilgrimage site. The region is also known for the Vindhya mountain range, which runs across the heart of India dividing India’s north and south.

Next on the list is the Devraha Baba Medical College, Deoria. The Baba, a seer widely followed in UP and Bihar, could count on Congress leaders such as Rajiv Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Arjun Singh as his devotees.

The Maharishi Vishwamitra Medical College, Ghazipur, is meant to woo both the Kshatriya and the backward Yadavs. Named after the famed Maharishi Vishwamitra, known for his contribution to the Vedas, the naming seeks to address both caste and religious sentiments in a region where the BJP lost the Lok Sabha seat in 2019.

UP BJP OBC Morcha incharge and party’s state vice-president, Dayashanker Singh, was candid about his party’s approach. He told reporters that leaders of particular castes would be roped in and if need be, caste leaders from other states would also be called in.

Location, location, location

The venue of each meeting will be fixed keeping in mind the presence of a particular caste residing in the area, Singh said.

Therefore, sammelans (meetings) of Prajapatis, Nishads, Mallahs, Maanjhis, Kashyaps, Telis, Kushwahas, Charasias, Sahus and Darjis – to mention only a very few – are being organised.  

The move also comes as a counter to some influential backward castes joining the SP-led coalition of parties, which has the potential to pose a substantial challenge to the BJP.

Caste symbolism works, says Amitabh Tewari. It is surely something that the BJP is banking upon.