No reservations

While the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to woo Dalits back from Mayawati’s fold, Dalits in the party themselves are far from impressed. Their grudge is that the Congress has failed to project any Dalit leader in Uttar Pradesh, even as the state unit is dominated by Brahmin faces, including PCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi and CLP leader Pramod Tiwari. The party has not given a Rajya Sabha ticket to any Dalit leader from UP since 1988, complained a community leader. And the lack of numbers is apparently no excuse. “If the party can get Rajeev Shukla elected from Maharashtra, Rashid Alvi from Andhra Pradesh, Mohsina Kidwai from Chhattisgarh and Janardan Dwivedi from Delhi, why can’t it have a Dalit elected to the Rajya Sabha from UP?” asked an ex-MP.