Mulayam woos UP Backwards

LUCKNOW, DECEMBER 19: Convinced that the BJP's already thin support among Backwards has further eroded since Kalyan Singh's expulsion, Mul...

LUCKNOW, DECEMBER 19: Convinced that the BJP8217;s already thin support among Backwards has further eroded since Kalyan Singh8217;s expulsion, Mulayam Singh Yadav is moving in fast to grab this vote.

At a rally held at BHM park here today, the Samajwadi Party SP leader exhorted the Backward classes to take to the streets to ensure that the existing 27 per cent reservation for them in government jobs is doubled. 8220;You will have to snatch your rights, because none will give you your due on their own. Fight till you win the battle,8221; he said at the meeting, held under the banner of the Most Backward Wing of the SP.

The speed with which Mulayam has acted on the issue is not surprising as the Backwards constitute 54 per cent of the total population in the state. If he gets their support besides the backing of the Muslims that he already enjoys, the SP8217;s vote bank climbs to a formidable 70 per cent of the population.

Mulayam announced at the meeting that he would hold a massive rally in New Delhi soon to8220;bolster8221; the fight to get the reservation limit doubled. When the Mandal Commission was initially implemented, he said, the total number of castes in it were 55. Later, 22 castes and 25 sub-castes were included in the list, taking the total tally to 102. 8220;The pace at which new castes are being brought under the ambit of the commission no one will be surprised if the total number reaches 175, leaving only Brahmins, Banias and Thakurs out of it,8221; he warned. Mulayam also talked of the IAS, claiming that of its 595 personnel in Uttar Pradesh, only 25 were Backwards.

While the SP chief did not utter a word about Kalyan, expelled BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj claimed from the dais that the BJP never liked the fact that a Backward leader like Kalyan should lead it in the largest state of the country. The saffron-clad sadhu himself is a known Kalyan loyalist and joined the SP just before the Lok Sabha elections. 8220;This is why the BJP will be reduced to a non-entity whenever the Assembly elections are held in thestate,8221; Sakshi Maharaj asserted. 8220;Kalyan Singh was a prominent leader and had the backing of Backwards but the upper castes in the BJP could not digest his popularity and he was removed.8221;

Mulayam alleged that the BJP government in the state was deliberately withdrawing security cover to SP leaders. 8220;Deena Nath Bhaskar and K P Yadav are now without a gunman, and as many as 270 SP workers have so far been killed,8221; he claimed.