Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav., Image credit: PTI
Following up on the BSP's lead, the Samajwadi Party, too, will hold a series of Prabudh sammelans or intellectual meetings ahead of the upcoming assembly polls to reach out to Brahmins. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav assented to hold the series starting from Ballia next month after senior SP leaders of the Prabudh cell of the party and the Parshuram Peeth met him.
SP's Prabudh Sabha, unlike the BSP's, has been working with the people for one year. The Parshuram Peeth, formed by SP party MLA Santosh Pandey, expressed the desire to hold such meetings, and Akhilesh Yadav agreed, explained party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary. Senior Brahmin leaders, including former Speaker of the state Assembly, Mata Prasad Pandey, president of the intellectuals cell Manoj Pandey, Sanatan Pandey and others, will be chalking out the party's strategy on these sammelans.
Chaudhary further remarked that there is anger amongst people over the "harassment" of Brahmins and alleged atrocities under the BJP govt. People will be made aware that they will get justice only under SP led government, he added. Tours and conferences shall be conducted in different parts of the state to connect with the Brahmin community and inform people of the works done by the party during its tenure.
BSP chief Mayawati has already kickstarted her Brahmin appeasement campaign from Ayodhya, wherein she urged the community to not be misled by the BJP. While noting that the upper castes now regret voting for the BJP in the last elections, she promised to safeguard their interests if voted to power. BSP's prominent Brahmin face and party general secretary Satish Chandra Misra has already started a series of prabudh sammelans in the state.