With the Dalit-Brahmin card failing miserably for the Bahujan Samaj Party in the last UP assembly election and the party winning just one seat, party supremo Mayawati is said to be distancing herself from Brahmins and instead eying the Dalit-Muslim card for the next parliamentary election in 2024.
Interestingly, Mayawati has even distanced herself from veteran Brahmin leader of the BSP, Satish Chandra Mishra, the number two in the party. Just before the election, Mishra had led ‘Prabuddh sammelan’ to garner support of Brahmins for the party, hoping that Dalit-Brahmin vote would once again do miracle for the party as in 2007, when it turned out to be a winning combination for BSP ensuring a full majority for the party for the first time. However, after the party's defeat, Mishra was not seen in any important meeting of the party and even kept away in the recent parliamentary by-election for Azamgarh seat.
Sources said buoyed with the good show of the BSP in the Azamgarh parliamentary by-election, where the party secured more than two lakh votes, Mayawati has started preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with increased focus on Dalit-Muslim combine instead of Dalit-Brahmin combination.
Overall, Muslim-Dalit has replaced the Brahmin-Dalit formula the party banked upon in 2007 and again in 2022.
In a recent meeting with party leaders, Mayawati gave big responsibilities to Muslim and Dalit faces. It is clear that the BSP's dismal performance in the UP assembly elections has sent a message to Mayawati that it cannot return to power by repeating the Brahmin-Dalit formula, which was the mantra of victory in 2007.
It is clear from the recent steps taken by Mayawati that she has lost faith in Brahmins and has shifted her focus back to Muslims and Dalits.
The BSP has given Dalit leaders important posts in the party organisation and has entrusted them with the task of preparing the party cadre for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Important posts have been given to Ghanshyam Chandra Kharwar, Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Akhilesh Ambedkar, Sudhir Bharti, Rajkumar Gautam, Madan Ram and Vijay Pratap.
In the last meeting of party leaders and office-bearers held on June 30, Mayawati reshuffled the organisation by making party missionary leaders coming from Dalit community as zonal in-charges.
Besides, she also gave prominence to Muslim leaders as Munkad Ali, Shamshuddin Raini and Naushad Ali, who also have been made zonal in-charges of the party to gain the support of the state's Muslims. Former minister and SP rebel Mohammad Irshad Khan, who wields influence over the Muslim community in central UP, joined the BSP on July 5.
On the other hand, Brahmin leaders in the party who previously held important positions in the BSP organisation, have been sidelined. After the election, senior BSP leader Nakul Dubey was shown the door and other Brahmin leaders were also sidelined.
According to a BSP leader, Satish Chandra Mishra was not included in the party's list of star campaigners for the Azamgarh Lok Sabha by-election. The dismal performance of the BSP in the assembly elections in UP has indicated that the Dalit-Brahmin formula did not work for the party.
It may be mentioned that to win the support of the Brahmin community, the BSP had organised ‘Prabuddh Varg Sammelans’ across the state but could merely win one seat. BSP Brahmin face Satish Chandra Mishra had addressed over 50 public meetings across Uttar Pradesh. Meetings were also organised in Brahmin-dominated seats but the BSP failed to make inroads into the Brahmin voters. After the election, Nakul Dubey was shown the door and other Brahmin leaders were also sidelined. Satish Chandra Mishra was not included in the list of party's star campaigners for Azamgarh Lok Sabha by-election, a BSP leader said.
The BSP leader said that despite the BSP's consecutive defeats in 2012 and 2017 UP assembly elections, Mayawati kept her trust in the leaders of the Brahmin community. However, he said, this time after the party's defeat, the BSP chief had changed the formula from Dalit-Brahmin to Dalit-Muslim alliance. Recently, she also asked her party workers to ensure the support of Muslims for the party and see that other parties (Samajwadi Party) do not misguide the community like they did in the recent polls.