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Monday, Apr 05, 2004

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Brahmin Mahasabha to oppose BJP in polls

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR APRIL 4. The Sarva Brahmin Mahasabha, which has been spearheading a campaign for reservation to Brahmins in jobs and education, today announced that it would oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections in view of its "discrimination" against the community in the distribution of tickets in Rajasthan.

The BJP has fielded two Brahmin candidates in the polls and both of them were the members of the dissolved Lok Sabha. They are Girdharilal Bhargava (Jaipur) and Raghuveer Singh Kaushal (Kota). The Mahasabha feels that the ruling party in the State is ignoring Brahmins despite their overwhelming support to it in the recent Assembly elections.

"More than 75 per cent of Brahmins voted for the BJP candidates in the Assembly elections and helped the party win with an unprecedented majority. Yet, the BJP has not done justice to the community," Suresh Mishra, president of Sarva Brahmin Mahasabha, told reporters here. He said the fielding of only two Brahmins amounted to an insult to the 75-lakh-strong community.

The Brahmin Mahasabha took up the cause of reservation in association with the Rajasthan Samajik Nyaya Manch in the run-up to the Assembly elections and campaigned for quota to the poor among Brahmins and Rajputs. However, the RSNM -- registered as a political party -- received a drubbing in the Assembly polls and has since been on a downslide.

Mr. Mishra pointed out that neither the Central BJP leadership nor the Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, had taken any serious step for introducing reservation to the economically backward classes. "The BJP's vision document makes no mention of EBCs and completely ignores the issue of reservation," he said.

The Brahmin Mahasabha may field Brahmin candidates under the banner of RSNM or extend support to Brahmins who have entered the fray as Independents. "We will finalise our strategy within a week and issue an appeal to Brahmins by the Parasuram Jayanthi falling on April 22," Mr. Mishra said.

Asked about the Brahmin Mahasabha's stand vis-a-vis Congress which too has finalised the names of only three Brahmin candidates in the State, Mr. Mishra said the community's resentment was more against BJP, as Brahmins had been the "traditional supporters of BJP".

The Mahasabha feels that there are as many as eight Lok Sabha constituencies in the State where Brahmins are in majority and expect the major political parties to field the community's representatives from there. These seats are Jaipur, Ajmer, Alwar, Dausa, Bikaner, Udaipur, Kota and Jodhpur.

Mr. Mishra affirmed that there was a "strong wave of disgust, resentment and indignation" among Brahmins against the BJP and this mood would have a significant impact on the election results. "No political party can grow by disregarding the feelings of its traditional voters. The BJP will pay a heavy price for this," he said.

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