Claiming that their community has been neglected and overlooked in political circles in Ayodhya, members of the Kurmi community, categorised as Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Uttar Pradesh, organised a “Kurmi Mahakumbh” on Sunday, the first such event in the temple town. Party lines were blurred as Congress, BJP, and other leaders came together to ensure that Sunday’s event was a success. They pointed out that despite formidable numbers, the Kurmi OBC community has not been represented in the Assembly or Parliament for the past two decades. The last time a member from the community reached the Lok Sabha was in 1999. Though this comes ahead of the high-voltage bypoll to Milkipur Assembly constituency in Ayodhya, which was necessitated after SP’s Awadhesh Prasad was elected to the Lok Sabha in June, the organisers of the Mahakumbh denied any connection between the event and the election. Congress state general secretary and AICC member Jai Karan Verma said, “The primary aim of the Kurmi Mahakumbh is to showcase our unity and strength. In Faizabad’s politics, our community is frequently overlooked, despite having over 2.38 lakh Kurmi voters out of a total of over 18 lakh voters in the region.” In Faizabad, Kurmis are predominantly farmers. The Kurmi Mahakumbh at Poorey Kasinath village, located about 5 km from the city on the Lucknow-Faizabad Highway, began at 11 am and concluded around 4.30 pm, which was attended by an estimated 50,000 people. This marked the first Kurmi Mahakumbh organised in Ayodhya. Dr Awadhesh Verma, a BJP member, highlighted that the Mahakumbh was held to address the issue of “neglect” faced by the community and to demand a greater political representation for Kurmis in Ayodhya. “It was unanimously decided today that if any community member receives a ticket, we will support them regardless of party lines. We felt compelled to make this decision because, for the past two decades, no member of our community has been represented in the Assembly or Parliament from Ayodhya,” he said. Vinay Katiyar, a member of the Kurmi community, last won the Lok Sabha election from the Faizabad seat (now Ayodhya) in 1999. “Since Vinay Katiyar’s victory, no other Kurmi leader has received a ticket from here. Additionally, no Kurmi has served as district president of any political party, despite our community making up around 15% of the district’s population,” Verma said, adding that in Sunday’s Mahakumbh, a commitment was made to include other OBC communities along with the Kurmis. Several Kurmi community members from other districts also attended the gathering, with the crowd mostly comprising those from Faizabad. “I had intended to organise the Mahakumbh last year, but it could not happen due to various reasons. On October 18, I held a meeting with community members, where it was decided to hold the Mahakumbh on November 29,” said Verma, adding that for the preparation of the apolitical Mahasabha, no committee or organisation was established to ensure its success. “Individuals were assigned responsibilities and they fulfilled them, making the Mahasabha a success. Over the past two months, we visited every village in the city to persuade community members to attend in large numbers, contributing to its success,” he said.
