In a move that will further stir the caste pot of Uttar Pradesh politics, Shivpal Yadav, founder of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), on Thursday announced the formation of the Yadukul Punarjagran Mission (Yadav Renaissance Mission).
While the Jaswantnagar MLA will be the patron of the organisation, former MP D.P. Yadav will serve as its chief .Mr. Yadav said the the mission would fight for social justice. “It will neither support nor oppose any political party,” he said at a press conference in Lucknow.
Mr. Yadav said it would work towards creating consensus for the caste census and formation of an Ahir (Yadav) regiment in the Army.
Mr. Yadav fought the last Assembly election on the Samajwadi Party ticket but has shared a tenuous relationship with party president and his nephew Akhilesh Yadav.
A Samajwadi Party leader, on condition of anonymity, said Mr. Yadav was trying to sway the biggest chunk in the OBC vote bank in his favour ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Yadavs constitute around 9% of the 42-45% of OBC voters in the State. Over the past few months, the BJP, which earlier focused on non-Yadav OBCs, has made attempts to woo the community.
