The Hindu : National : Mayawati plans to woo Thakurs now

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 28, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Mayawati plans to woo Thakurs now

Atiq Khan

LUCKNOW: After wooing Brahmins, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has now decided to cast the net wider to include other prominent castes in her social mobilisation strategy ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

The “bhaichara” (brotherhood) committees, which played a significant role in the Bahujan Samaj Party’s race to power in the 2007 Assembly elections, will be assigned a greater responsibility.

Role redefined

The BSP president, who held meetings with Ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, coordinators and office-bearers on Friday and Saturday, redefined the role of the brotherhood committees. A social brotherhood committee was formed under the leadership of Panchayati Raj Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha.

Informed sources said that for bringing the Thakurs or Kshatriyas into the BSP fold, the State had been divided into two zones — Purvanchal (eastern Uttar Pradesh ) and western Uttar Pradesh — under the charge of Cabinet Ministers.

Starting from Sultanpur and Pratapgarh districts, the Thakurs are largely concentrated in the Purvanchal region. The BSP’s focus will be on wooing the Thakurs in the eastern part, said a senior Minister on condition of anonymity.

In Uttar Pradesh, Thakurs are considered a “floating vote.” In the past, other parties had made vigorous attempts to woo them. A campaign by the Thakur Ministers and MLAs against the Mayawati government in 2003 following the arrest of Kunda MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya and his father Uday Pratap Singh under the Prevention of Terrorist Act preceded the formation of the Mulayam government.

On his release, Raja Bhaiyya was inducted as a Cabinet Minister in the Mulayam regime.

Eight zones

For further expanding the BSP’s base, the Chief Minister has divided the State into eight zones and appointed Cabinet Ministers and senior party functionaries as coordinators for each zone.

After dissolving the district units of the party, Ms. Mayawati fixed August 31 deadline for forming new ones.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National