It8217;s Kalraj again as BJP woos upper castes

NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW, AUGUST 17: Paduka slippers not pad post is valued,'' said challenger Ram Prakash Tripathi with tears welling up in ...

NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW, AUGUST 17: Paduka slippers not pad post is valued,8221; said challenger Ram Prakash Tripathi with tears welling up in his eyes, paving the way for Kalraj Mishra to become UP8217;s BJP chief for the record fourth time.

Why did Tripathi, earlier adamant on trying his luck against Mishra 8212; who was backed by almost the entire state and Central unit of the party 8212; have this dramatic change of heart? A 8220;message from Atalji8221; brought to him by Union Minister for Surface Transport Rajnath Singh seemed to have convinced him about the futility of it all.

Thus, an apparently inevitable and potentially embarrassing contest between Mishra and Tripathi was averted at the last moment today.

By propping up Mishra, a Brahmin, as President of its Uttar Pradesh unit 8212; with Ram Prakash Gupta, a Bania, as Chief Minister 8212; the BJP seems to be making an attempt to send a signal to the upper castes.

In the caste-ridden society of UP, which will witness Assembly elections next year, the Dalits predominantly vote for the Bahujan Samaj Party and the backwards for the Samajwadi Party while the Muslims remain divided between the BSP, the SP and the Congress.

After consolidating their main vote-banks, all the three major opposition parties have been making concerted efforts to woo the upper castes, the bastion of the BJP, setting off alarm bells in the party.

The BJP high command8217;s bid to undertake social engineering by promoting Kalyan Singh, a leader of the backwards, for the past 11 years until he was thrown out last year for taking on Vajpayee himself, seemed to have annoyed the upper castes. The party is apparently trying to save a constituency which has been loyal to it since the Jan Sangh days.

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The BJP feels it can woo the Dalit vote-bank with its new President, Bangaru Laxman. 8220;He is not the party8217;s mask but our new mascot,8221; said a senior leader recently. It also hopes to attract the backwards by appointing them in large numbers in the state executive.

Meanwhile, keeping with the tradition of one man one post8217; in the party, Kalraj quit the Gupta cabinet immediately after getting elected and vowed to work for strengthening the party.

While Tripathi surrendered to the wishes of the party high command meekly, his supporters were not ready to take things lying down and surrounded Rajnath Singh when he went to Tripathi8217;s Darulshafa residence after the result was announced. Tripathi8217;s supporters were angry since Rajnath himself had propped him up against Kalraj, party sources said.

Kalraj may have been elected unopposed but the BJP8217;s image of a disciplinedparty and the one with a difference has suffered a serious setback. Supporters of Kalraj and Tripathi raised slogans against each other at theparty headquarters.