Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday unveiled a statue of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder and Dalit leader Kanshi Ram at Manyavar Kanshi Ram Mahavidyalaya in Rae Bareli.
Speaking at the much-hyped function organised by the SP general secretary and prominent non-Yadav OBC (Other Backward Class) face Swami Prasad Maurya, Mr. Yadav reached out to the Dalit community and said that the path shown by socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia is the same as that imagined by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram for upliftment of depressed sections.
Appearing to counter allegations levelled by BSP president Mayawati, who had said the SP is “attempting to manipulate” the Dalit community, Mr. Yadav asserted, “We aim at binding the Bahujan society and are not trying to create division.”
Remembering the friendship between Kanshi Ram and his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh, he said both the leaders “together pioneered a new kind of politics in the country”. “Netaji [Mulayam] helped Kanshi Ram ji reach Parliament by supporting him from Etawah in Lok Sabha elections. Today in the same way our society needs to be united,” said Mr. Yadav.
Reiterating his demand for a caste-based census, the former U.P. CM said that development of each and every section of society is possible only when there is a caste census. “Without caste census, social justice and development of all is not possible. Our fight for rights of oppressed and marginalised classes has been going on for a long time,” said Mr. Yadav.
While attacking BJP for being anti-Dalit and anti-OBC, the SP chief cautioned voters on those who indirectly help and support the saffron party, hinting at the BSP. “The BJP fights elections even with the support of others. Therefore, you have to be careful. We also have to be careful with those who help the BJP indirectly,” added the SP leader. In the function, the slogans from 1993, when the SP and BSP fought election together against the BJP after the Babri Masjid demolition, figured in the speeches of some SP leaders.
The event is a major signalling by the SP to Dalit community in view of changing electoral realities in the State and amid the gradual erosion in base of the Dalit-centric BSP. The SP which is aware that Yadav-Muslim consolidation and sections of non-Yadav OBC support may not be enough to seriously challenge the BJP in 2024, is aiming to make inroads among Dalit and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) voters.
It has inducted leaders like Mr. Maurya and gave roughly 35% representation to non-Yadav OBCs or EBC social groups in its national executive, which has six members from the Dalit community.
The Rae Bareli visit of the SP president is also significant as it happens to be the parliamentary constituency of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. In the past few months, the SP has been increasingly critical of the Congress with Mr. Yadav even hinting at putting up a candidate in neighbouring Amethi, another traditional grand old party bastion.
