With eye on 2024 polls, BJP plans to expand base among Yadavs, Pasmanda Muslims

India

oi-PTI

Lucknow,
Aug
07:
The
BJP
has
planned
to
expand
its
base
among
the
Yadavs,
Jatavs
and
Pasmanda
Muslims
as
part
of
its
strategy
to
win
all
80
Lok
Sabha
seats
in
the
2024
general
election.

Uttar
Pradesh
Deputy
Chief
Minister
and
former
state
BJP
president
Keshav
Prasad
Maurya
had
also
dropped
a
hint
in
a
recent
tweet,
saying
Yaduvanshi
(Yadavs),
Ravidasiyo
(Jatavs)
and
Pasmanda
Muslims
will
be
brought
closer
to
the
BJP
so
that
the
lotus
“blossoms”
in
every
booth
in
UP.

After
the
party’s
victory
in
the
Azamgarh
and
Rampur
Lok
Sabha
bypolls,
Chief
Minister
Yogi
Adityanath
had
claimed
that
it
will
win
all
80
seats
in
next
general
election.

While
OBC
Yadavs
and
Muslims
form
the
Samajwadi
Party’s
“MY”
vote
bank,
Jatavs
have
been
siding
with
the
BSP
led
by
Mayawati
so
far.

SP’s
national
secretary
Rajendra
Chaudhary
trashed
Maurya’s
assertions
and
said
his
party
doesn’t
believe
in
politics
of
casteism.

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2024,
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road
infrastructure
to
be
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good
as
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Gadkari

“Our
ideology
is
based
on
socialism
and
social
justice,”
Chaudhary
told
PTI.

Sources
in
the
BJP
said
the
party
has
planned
to
launch
a
comprehensive
mass
contact
campaign
to
reach
out
to
Yadavs,
Jatavs
and
Pasmanda
Muslims
in
course
of
its
“Tiranga
Yatra”
week
from
August
11
to
17.

Of
1.70
lakh
booths
in
the
80
Lok
Sabha
seats
in
UP,
the
BJP
feels
it
has
comparatively
lesser
influence
on
22,000.

According
to
sources,
most
of
these
booths
are
dominated
by
Yadav,
Jatav
and
Muslim
voters.

They
said
on
state
secretary
(organisation)
Sunil
Bansal’s
instruction,
BJP
MPs
and
MLAs
had
recently
undertaken
mass
contact
programmes
to
increase
the
party’s
footprint.

The
BJP
has
64
MPs
from
Uttar
Pradesh
while
its
ally
Apna
Dal
(Sonelal)
has
two.

Break
BJP’s
prison,
break
its
shackles…:
Mamata
urges
people
to
turn
2024
into
‘election
of
rejection’

The
BSP
has
10
MPs
while
the
Samajwadi
Party’s
tally
came
down
to
three
after
it
lost
Azamgarh
and
Rampur
seats
to
the
BJP
in
the
bypolls
held
recently.
Sonia
Gandhi
is
the
sole
MP
of
the
Congress.
She
represents
the
Rae
Bareli
seat.

According
to
experts,
Yadavs
form
11
per
cent
of
the
UP’s
population.
Dalits
are
around
21
per
cent
of
the
population
and
Muslim’s
presence
is
estimated
at
18
per
cent.
Among
the
Dalits,
Jatavs
are
numerically
strong.

Seventeen
Lok
Sabha
seats
are
reserved
for
Scheduled
Castes
in
UP.

Yadav
and
Muslim
voters
decide
in
10
Lok
Sabha
constituencies
each.

A
senior
BJP
leader
Santraj
Yadav
told
PTI
that
a
“majority
of
the
Yadavs
no
longer
want
to
stay
with
the
SP
while
they
don’t
see
any
hope
in
the
Congress
and
the
BSP
is
not
of
their
liking”.
“So,
the
BJP
is
the
best
option
for
them
where
they
are
getting
better
opportunities
and
importance,”
he
said.

Yadav,
who
is
also
the
chairman
of
the
UP
state
cooperative
bank,
pointed
to
the
BJP
sending
Sangita
Yadav
of
Gorakhpur
to
the
Rajya
Sabha
and
Subhas
Yadav
of
Sant
Kabir
Nagar
to
the
state
legislative
council
and
the
victory
of
Dinesh
Lal
Yadav
‘Nirahua’ from
Azamgarh
in
the
bypolls
to
prove
his
point.

Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
spared
time
from
his
busy
schedule
to
virtually
attend
a
programme
held
to
mark
the
10th
death
anniversary
of
Harmohan
Singh
Yadav
in
Kanpur
on
July
25.

Harmohan
Singh
Yadav
had
served
as
the
president
of
the
Yadav
Mahasabha.
His
son
Sukhram
Singh
Yadav,
a
former
Rajya
Sabha
MP,
lavishly
praised
the
PM.

Sukhram’s
son
Mohit
Yadav
has
already
taken
the
membership
of
the
BJP.

SP
patron
Mulayam
Singh
Yadav’s
younger
daughter-in-law
Aparna
Yadav
had
joined
the
BJP
on
the
eve
of
the
assembly
elections
while
senior
socialist
leader
Shivpal
Singh
Yadav
is
at
odds
with
his
nephew
Akhilesh.

His
proximity
to
the
BJP
was
clearly
visible
in
the
recent
presidential
elections
where
he
voted
for
NDA’s
candidate
Droupadi
Murmu.

The
BJP
is
also
giving
prominence
to
Jatavs.
Changing
its
track,
the
BJP,
which
earlier
gave
more
importance
to
Kori,
Dhanuk,
Khatik
and
Passi
sections
among
the
Dalits,
concentrated
on
the
Jatavs
in
the
Assembly
polls.

Former
Uttrakhand
Governor
Baby
Rani
Maurya
after
winning
elections
was
made
a
cabinet
minister
in
the
current
UP
government
led
by
Yogi
Adityanath.

She
earlier
served
as
Agra
mayor,
where
Jatavs
have
sizeable
presence
and
BSP
supremo
Mayawati
often
launches
her
poll
campaign
from
this
region.

A
leader
of
the
state
BJP
SC
morcha
said,
“Our
interest
is
safe
in
the
BJP
only.
The
double
dose
of
ration
during
the
coronavirus
pandemic,
houses
and
Rs
5
lakh
medical
cover
have
been
provided
to
everybody
by
the
Modi
government.
In
Modi
rule,
nobody
sleeps
hungry.” The
BJP
is
also
trying
to
win
over
Pasmanda
Muslims.
The
party
gave
place
to
Danish
Azad
Ansari
in
Adityanath’s
cabinet.
He
has
been
made
the
minister
of
state
for
minority
affairs.

Mohsin
Raza,
the
lone
Muslim
minister
in
the
previous
term,
is
a
Shia.

Post-poll
surveys
indicated
that
the
BJP’s
vote
share
among
Muslims
rose
to
8
per
cent,
one
per
cent
rise
vis-à-vis
2017
election.

State
BJP
minority
cell
chief
Basit
Ali
told
PTI,
“There
are
several
beneficiaries
from
Muslims
in
welfare
schemes
launched
by
the
Modi
government.
The
party
is
in
touch
with
them.”