Lucknow: In a big jolt to ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and Bahujan Samaj Party, several prominent Brahmins leaders including sitting legislators have joined Samajwadi fold.
Ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh almost all political parties have been running a woo Brahmin campaign to lure this community. Opposition parties have been raising the issue of atrocities on Brahmins and their negligence in the government as well as bureaucracy. However the ruling BJP has been claiming that Brahmins are fully behind it and they are been given due respect in this government.
On Sunday the family of know Brahmin leader from east UP and former minister Hari Shankar Tiwari’s legislator son Vinay Shankar Tiwari, elder son and former BSP MP Kushal Tiwari joined SP in the presence of AKhilesh Yadav. Along with them former chairman UP legislative council and nephew of Hari Shankar Tiwari, Ganesh Shankar Pandey also joined SP. BJP legislator from Sant Kabeernagar Jai Choubey who is close toTiwari family too joined them in coming with Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday. A large number of leaders from various political parties including that of BSP, BJP and congress have also joined SP with Tiwari family members.
After joining SP, Vinay Tiwari and other leaders said that Brahmins have been facing insult in the Yogi government and everyone including youth, women and farmers is facing miseries. These leaders pledged to work for P and ensure victory of Akhilesh Yadav in the coming assembly polls.
This could be termed as a big setback for BSP & BJP and a shot in the arm for SP as Tiwari family has its influence on over four dozen Brahmin dominated seats in the east UP. These includes seats in Gorakhpur, Mahrajganj, Basti, Siddharthnagara, Sant Kabeernagar, Deoria, Gonda, Balrampur, Shrawasti and Behraich. Hari Shankar Tiwari and family had played a crucial role for BSP coming to power in 2007 assembly polls when the later had launched a Brahmin-Dalit unity campaign.
Vocal on the issues related with Brahmin community, Vinay Shankar Tiwari had met with SP Chief Akhilesh early this month after which he was suspended from BSP. A Native of Gorakhpur in east UP, Hari Shankar Tiwari family has been at loggerhead with UP CM Yogi Adityanath since long. Sitting legislator from Chillupar assembly segment Vinay Shankar Tiwari had even contested parliamentary election against Yogi from Gorakhpur in 2014 on BSP ticket.
Sitting BJP legislator Jai Choubey, who joined SP on Sunday with the Tiwari family members, is also a well-known Brahmin face in east UP. Choubey runs several educational institutes in Basti division of east UP.