Outreach to Brahmins significant, but long way to go for winning community’s trust, say activists on SP’s push

Outreach to Brahmins significant, but long way to go for winning community's trust, say activists on SP's push Brahmin social outfits feel the attempt to woo the community as part of an extended PDA social coalition ahead of polls is welcome but.

Key points

• Ravindra Pandey, an activist associated with Brahmin Parishad, remarked the SP needs to produce its stand clear on setting up a Brahmin Welfare Board.
• A section backed the party in some constituencies, but mass backing of Brahmins was always for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) or Congress.
• Brahmins, an influential social group, comprise over 9% of the total electorate in Uttar Pradesh.
• Whenever Samajwadi Party has obtained a chance to govern, it has been respectful towards the community and its members, the SP chief went on.
• The other matter is the role of Brahmin leaders in decision-making of the party.

Against the backdrop of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav's renewed attempt to woo Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh by claiming that the community is additionally a part of the Pichhda-Dalit-Alpsankhyak (PDA or Backwards, Dalits and minorities) matrix, a number of Brahmin social groups and activists hailing from the community remarked the SP has a long way to go to win the trust of Brahmins but agreed that the outreach holds significance in view of the 2027 State Assembly election.

"The Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav talking regarding Brahmins and promising respect to the community is a good beginning, but he has to cover a long road to win sizeable votes. Traditionally, the SP is considered a 'Muslim-Yadav' party with these communities forming the core of its backing base, " stated Shivesh Trivedi, a social activist associated with Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Mahasabha.

"Brahmins never backed the SP in substantial numbers. A section backed the party in some constituencies, but mass backing of Brahmins was always for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) or Congress. To change that, the SP's words need to translate into policy decisions like what kind of specific policies the party is planning to bring for the Brahmins in its election manifesto, how plenty of electoral tickets the party is giving to leaders hailing from the community, etc., " he further stated.

After the renewed push by Mr. Yadav, the community will be closely watching the SP and this has opened up an opportunity for deeper outreach, remarked Mr. Trivedi.

Ravindra Pandey, an activist associated with Brahmin Parishad, remarked the SP needs to produce its stand clear on setting up a Brahmin Welfare Board. "The community consists of educated individuals. We analyse statements. The larger question is what is Mr. Yadav's and his party's stand on Brahmin Welfare Board, demand for its formation from the administration is going on for betterment of the community."

"The other matter is the role of Brahmin leaders in decision-making of the party. Appointing a Brahmin as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly is one aspect but how much influence the person had on decision-making within the party, our community examines such aspects. Brahmins moved towards the BSP in 2007 since Satish Chandra Mishra was the key person in decision-making of the party and the administration, " Mr. Pandey pointed out.

Brahmins, an influential social group, comprise over 9% of the total electorate in Uttar Pradesh. The SP has one Lok Sabha MP hailing from the community and a few MLAs in the 403-member State Assembly. Mata Prasad Pandey, a Brahmin face, is the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly from the party.

Ram Dutt Tripathi, a veteran political commentator, notes Mr. Yadav's attention towards Brahmins hints at the difficulty as ad-hocism and lacks continuity towards the community. "During Mulayam Singh Yadav's time, the SP applied to have influential leaders from all caste groups. This person played an notable role in the decision making. Presently, that seems absent. Notably, the leadership makes statements on occasions but for broader outreach they need continuity and clarity over core reservations, " went on Mr. Tripathi.

Mr. Yadav, a former Chief Minister, had lately stated on the birth anniversary of late socialist leader and MP Janeshwar Mishra that "the friendship between Lord Krishna and Sudama is not new, tell me how many thousands of years old is this friendship, which era does it belong to".

In practice, the SP was in power in U.P. For five years between 2012 and 2017 when Mr. Yadav was the Chief Minister.

Taken together, the developments around outreach to Brahmins significant, but long way to go for winning community's point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.