Who is the biggest OBC champion of them all? UP parties in a race after HC order

The BJP wanted to remove OBCs from positions of power and to reduce them to slaves, across all spheres, Akhilesh said. “The governments at both the Centre and state have been formed with the votes of backwards, but today there is no space for backwards,” the SP leader said, adding, “Reservation ke liye bhi revolution ho jaye (Let there be a revolution for reservation too).”

Even OBC leaders of the BJP knew “in their souls” that the party was the enemy of social justice, Akhilesh said, asking them to reflect on the same.

Soon after, BSP president Mayawati issued a statement attacking not just the BJP and Congress but also the SP over the reservation issue, and warning OBCs, SCs and STs against such “two-faced” parties.

In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said: “The Congress government at the Centre did not allow the implementation of the Mandal Commission report on reservation for backwards. Along with this, the SC, ST reservation was also made ineffective. And now, the BJP is following in the footsteps of the Congress.”

On the SP, Mayawati said: “The SP government did not give full rights to most backwards, and ended SC/ST reservation in promotions. It tore apart the Bill related to this in Parliament.”

Former SP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) said rather than attacking others over reservation, Akhilesh should “first look within”, SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar asked what had the SP done for reservation of OBCs when it was in power four times in the state.

He described Akhilesh’s statement as stemming from the SP’s “over-enthusiasm” after winning the Mainpuri and Khatauli seats in the recent bypolls, and said the SP didn’t realise that the ground beneath it was shifting.

Rajbhar also accused Akhilesh of ignoring Muslims after winning elections with their support. “Chhod do Rajbhar ko, Bind, Kewat, Mallah ko chhod do, Prajapati, Kushwaha, Shakya ko chhod do… Apke paas Musalman tha, Julaha, Ansari, Sheikh, Sayed, Darji, Fakeer… Apne usko kitna sipahi banaya, apne usko kitna daroga banaya (Forget about the Rajbhars, Binds, Mallahs, Prajapatis, Kushwahas, Shakyas… You had with you Muslims, Ansaris, Sheikhs, Sayeds, Julahas… How many of them did you make constables, sub-inspectors)?” Rajbhar said.

UP Deputy Chief Minister and the BJP’s OBC face Keshav Prasad Maurya accused Akhilesh of shedding crocodile tears. “Akhilesh wants welfare of his family, not of the backwards. He should instead concentrate on his party as there is a long list of his MLAs who are in touch with us,” Maurya said.

Reacting to Akhilesh’s statement equating the Congress with the BJP, Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput said: “Every party has its own sidhanta, but there are some which are common in our fight against the ruling party… The need is for everyone to be united in opposition to the BJP.”

The Congress submitted a memorandum to the Governor, while its units across the state submitted the same to their respective district magistrates, demanding reservation for OBCs in the civic elections. In the memorandums, the Congress said it would launch a state-wide agitation to “expose the anti-backward mentality of the government”.

The SP has so far had an edge over other parties in UP when it comes to OBCs, with its main vote bank of the Yadavs forming the largest of the backward groups. The BJP has been slowly whittling away at the same though, by targeting other backward groups, many of whom are resentful of Yadav dominance.