Eye on 2012 polls,SP woos Brahmins

However,the SP leaders said they are not attempting to redefine the party’s OBC orientation.

“Nobody is untouchable in politics. Voters are welcome irrespective of caste,creed and religion. However,the party’s thrust will remain on its core vote bank — the OBC,” said a senior SP leader.

Akhilesh Yadav,the state president of the SP,said,“There is no attempt either to redefine the ideology or orientation of the party. If somebody from our party tries to reach out to a particular section of the society,it should not be interpreted as an act of deserting our ideology.”

Historically,SP has been rooted in the anti-upper caste,pro-OBC and Mandalite politics. But Yadav said the SP was “a victim of a malicious campaign” that had alienated the Brahmins from the party. “The Assembly elections are not far away. You cannot win the electoral battle in UP with support of a few caste groups. You need people’s support cutting across the lines of caste and religion,” he said.

Asked about the SP’s choice of a little-known Manoj Pande as its Brahmin face,Yadav said,“We do not need to copy the BSP or any other party in our campaign. We have Brahmin leaders at the grassroot level in almost all districts and Assembly constituencies. Besides,we have senior Brahmin leaders like Brij Bhushan Tewari,who is our national vice-president,former speaker of the UP Assembly Mata Prasad Pande and national general secretary Ashok Bajpai.”

But question remains whether the Brahmins will trust a party known for its strong pro-OBC,and anti-upper caste planks. “The SP is now a mainstream political party which is capable of accommodating interests of diverse sections of the society,” said Pande.