Lucknow (UP): Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati who is trying her best to court the Brahmin vote bank is contemplating on what could be a political masterstroke to regain power in the UP Assembly Elections 2022. Speculations are rife that Mayawati may declare BSP's All India General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra as the chief ministerial face to bring back BSP to power. According to political experts, if BSP manages to pull this off, then the politics of Uttar Pradesh will be heading in a new direction. The move will definitely benefit the BSP not only in Purvanchal but also in western Uttar Pradesh. This could also make other political parties in the state look for realigning its established equations.
BSP supremo taking feedback from leaders
According to party sources, several discussions are being held within the BSP as to whether Satish Mishra should be announced as the CM candidate in order to mobilize the Brahmin community. It is also learnt that Mayawati is taking feedback from leaders within the party about the advantages and disadvantages of declaring Bahujan Samaj Party's biggest Brahmin face Satish Chandra Mishra as the chief ministerial candidate. Mayawati had lambasted the BJP government, accusing it of ignoring people's welfare and claimed that only the BSP could ensure the welfare of Brahmins and others. She even added that the opposition parties were troubled by BSP's Brahmin Jodo Abhiyan (Brahmin Sammelan) conferences. In this context, Mayawati's pick of Satish Chandra Mishra could be an out-of-the-box move.
Mayawati busy churning out all political equations
In UP politics, Bahujan Samaj Party's main vote bank has been Dalits. This would be possible only if Mayawati is successful in bringing together the 13% Brahmin share of votes into the existing 23% Dalit share of votes. However, BSP sources doubt whether Satish Chandra Mishra will be able to garner the same attention among Dalits that Mayawati enjoys and whether the castes belonging to the original BSP vote bank will able accept her current unorthodox pick.
Satish Mishra was successful in social engineering in 2007
It may be noted that the National President of Bahujan Samaj Party and former UP CM Mayawati had chalked out a formula for social engineering in the 2007 assembly elections and it was because of this formula, that the BSP was successful in forming the government with the help of Brahmin and Dalit votaries . During the 2007 assembly elections, the BSP gave a big responsibility to Satish Chandra Mishra and it was under his chairmanship, that intellectual conferences were held in all the assembly constituencies across the state. Also during the time, a large number of Brahmins, Dalits and most backward communities were allowed participation and this strategy was successful, as a result the Bahujan Samaj Party had formed the government with an absolute majority.
Satish Mishra's political stature
Satish Chandra Mishra, who emerged as the biggest Brahmin face of the Bahujan Samaj Party, is currently a Rajya Sabha MP and hails from UP's Kanpur. He is a lawyer by profession and has served as the President of Uttar Pradesh Bar Council in the year 1998-99. Mishra has also served as the Advocate General of the State Government in 2002. He has been working as National General Secretary of the Bahujan Samaj Party since January 2004 and has been a Rajya Sabha member since July 2004. Apart from this, he has also been a member is several Parliamentary committees. In 2016, the BSP supremo Mayawati had sent Mishra to the Rajya Sabha instead of her, which speaks volumes about the trust she has in him and her constant efforts in projecting the Brahmin face.
This move will not impact BJP's electoral politics: Anand Dubey
Reacting to the developments, Bharatiya Janata Party's state spokesperson Anand Dubey says that Bahujan Samaj Party CM candidate is entirely its internal matter. When it comes to the BJP, it will go among the people on the basis of work done and will be successful in forming the government again. On the other hand, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya), Samajwadi Party (SP) resort to politics of caste and religion, which will not help them anymore. Also, the announcement of Satish Chandra Mishra as the chief ministerial candidate will not affect the electoral politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Bharatiya Janata Party will enter the election field on the basis of the achievements of its government and will win the election.
