With the Congress eyeing the BSP?s Dalit vote bank in UP, the Samajwadi Party is trying to strengthen its base among the state?s Most Backward Castes (MBCs) like Nishads, Binds, Mallahs, Manjhis, Pals, Prajapatis and Gareris.
The SP has already demanded the inclusion of at least 16 such castes in the SC category and is promising them a share in political power, along with the OBCs. The party feels that people of these castes are unhappy with the Mayawati?s ?special focus? on Dalits and are thus ripe for the picking.
And it is wasting no time. Meetings with local leaders of these castes have begun. ?The idea is to create enough awareness among these castes about their importance in the state?s politics. If united, they can be a good weapon for the party to counter Dalits,? said a source in the SP.
The SP has already held separate conferences of different castes at state level, said party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhari, confirming that the party was trying to woo the MBCs. ?We want them to join mainstream politics. They need social justice in the current situation,? Choudhari said. The party held a conference of backward castes in Kanpur on April 20 and a conference of the Saini group in Saharanpur on April 6.
SP leaders who have been entrusted with the job of uniting these castes under the party banner cite examples of the Mayawati government?s special focus on Dalits. ?We tell them (MBCs) about how many people from their castes have got jobs in UP in comparison with Dalits. We prompt them to join the political race like Dalits,? said a source.
Behind the SP?s desperation to win over MBCs is also the worry about Congress resurgence in the state, sources said, though SP leaders won?t admit it. General secretary of the party?s state unit Om Prakash Singh said there was ?nothing new in the party?s efforts to ensure social justice for these castes?.