The resounding cries of Ganesh, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh at the last Bahujan Samaj Party-sponsored Brahmin Sammelan in Lucknow could not have been a better welcome by Dalits to their new partners, the Brahmins. BSP president Mayawati’s ardent call to upper-caste Hindus to join her once fiercely anti-Brahmin fold may have made a section of her colleagues uneasy, but party ideologues and political analysts believe it is a bold gamble to broaden her party base and further her influence in the dust bowl of UP politics. Any misgivings about victorious Brahmins deserting and splitting the party is also waved off as imponderables in an uncertain future.The present formula is straightforward — the Dalits and Brahmins together hope to become a winning combine to put up a spirited fight against the almost invincible Yadav-Thakur-Muslim coalition which has come to dominate Uttar Pradesh. While the Dalits need an upper-caste ally to come within striking distance of victory at elections, the Brahmins have been desperately searching for a party after both its former patrons, the Congress and BJP, have been reduced to being minor players.Dalit writer and ideologue Chandrabhan Prasad is not surprised that Dalits and Brahmins have come to join hands. Says Prasad, ‘‘They have been forced by circumstances to come together — both are marginalised in society today, both are untouchables: the Brahmin is a political untouchable and the Dalit a social outcaste always. They have a common enemy: the OBC-Thakur combine.’’Political analyst Aditya Nigam says it is not the first time Dalits and Brahmins have come together. The experiment began when the Brahmin-supported BJP and the Dalit BSP forged a post-poll alliance to form the government in UP. ‘‘I will not say whether it is a right or wrong strategy to come together or that it is a dilution of BSP ideology. My concern is this new initiative should not become accommodative of the BJP in any way,’’ says Nigam.Mayawati’s move will hit at the heart of a Congress revival in the State. BSP analyst Abhay Dubey believes there will be no dilution of Dalit ideology with the entry of Brahmins in the party. ‘‘The BSP’s ideology will be far more intact than say the BJP’s dilution in the NDA,’’ points out Dubey, ‘‘and while ideology comes in only during a crisis, in terms of real politik, this combination is on the right track.’’ Dubey believes with the coming together of old partners again (from the Brahmin-dominated Congress to the Dalit-dominated BSP), the democratisation of UP politics have begun.He, however, believes this tactical arrangement should be dealt with astuteness and care. First, Mayawati should ensure tickets are distributed shrewdly. She should not be seen as overtly placating the Brahmins and must pick winning candidates. She must also ensure that Brahmin votes are transferred to Dalit candidates. ‘‘It did not happen in previous elections when Mayawati gave tickets to Brahmins,’’ says Dubey, ‘‘but the spadework is being done. The situation is different now.’’
