By Haider Abbas

The acrimony between the two Upper Caste Hindu factions Thakurs and Brahmins is now more than clear and visible, as BJP UP CM Ajay Singh Bisht, a Thakur, better known as Yogi Adityanath, has disgraced his own Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma-a Brahmin! To bring public disrepute to own BJP ministers is not that new, as on one other occasion, the other Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya ( a Backward) was made to sit on a stool between Yogi Adityanath and Dinesh Sharma-both Upper Castes and then the Dinesh Sharma had endorsed it! Now the same was meted to him too as the occasion occurred on January 23, in New Delhi, when a Congress RPN Singh ( Thakur) had joined BJP after leaving Congress, RPN Singh has been a former Union Minister with the Congress government.

There are countless examples in the last five years as to how Yogi Adityanath had brought public-disgrace to his own party MLAs or members, and which, have continued unabated since what may be called as initial-days of the government (2017-22), but now a lot of water has flown through the Ganges, and the wedge between the traditional and civilizational rivals, has long got more drifted and divided. There is a whole list of the grouse as to how Brahmins, who have been the traditional and prime voters of BJP, since the unlocking of Babri Masjid in 1986, have had in the past five years, which ultimately have prompted Brahmins to look for the next incumbent party, the Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav. Brahmins accuse BJP to have side-lined a Brahmin face for CM in UP, as the last Brahmin CM in UP ( Narain Dutt Tiwari) has been there more than three-decades back.

If a small scrutiny is put to the picture published by ANI, BJP JP Nadda sits in between, RPN Singh on his left, then Swatantra Dev Singh ( Backward Kurmi) and Keshav Prasad Maurya, while on the right are Union Home Minister Amit Shah, UP CM Aditanath and Dinesh Sharma, and once after the photo-frame, immediately Dinesh Sharma was made to walk-off from the immediate privacy of Yogi Adityanath. His dropped face can very easily be seen, as he walks holding his chair on his back, and no-one-even-looks-at-him’. As if it is all very common inside BJP. The video was published by NBT on January 26.
The picture of Dinesh Sharma’s disgrace can be accessed in a mere six-seconds, but which speaks volumes of the attitude Yogi Adityanath must have reflected against his own party-mates, which however, came not at all as a surprise as after all the next acronym for his government is Thok Do Sarkar ( Shoot down government). When now such an event has come into public domain, it is also to attract a Brahmin backlash, who have during all these found napping. Dinesh Sharma is from Lucknow and had been a mayor of the Brahmin-Kayastha centric Lucknow, and is always a moment-of-pride for Upper Caste Hindus. He was also a faculty in Lucknow University. He exudes simplicity in his otherwise anti-Muslim, anti-Islamic party, anti-Backward and anti-Dalit party. Wonder, when he has been ‘repudiated and renounced’ in his own party, what is he doing there? Except to yet again provide the intellectual-grit to the party which has never shied into its atrocities against Backwards, Muslims, Dalits and even towards the his own Brahmin clan. Brahmins have been long wary of a Thakur CM and of late there has been a sustained campaign, from inside BJP, that even if BJP makes a re-run to office, in March 22, which does not seem to be a possibility, there is to be no place of Yogi Adityanath second term in office.

As the days of elections are coming more and more closer, no wonder Brahmins are to be found more adrift from BJP, as Brahmins, despite being the ruling class in terms of their presence in Judiciary, Police, Executive, Media, Army-officers and their near monopoly in private sector, always vie for ‘regards-and-respect’, as civilizationally it has been a learned-community but it cannot stomach the ‘slur-of- humiliation’, which is now all available on the streets.

The ‘ashamed’ Dinesh Sharma and Sanjiv Balyan BJP MP’s ‘Panditwad Murdabad’. Courtesy: Internet

The still of the picture above shows a smiling Dinesh Sharma, moments before he was to be ashamed. The incident could never have been noticed, had there was no social-media, which forced the mainstream media too, to publish, all the while as Dinesh Sharma was called for a pittance. Is the message now clear, that the Thakur affiliated government does not need Backwards and Brahmins? As Dinesh Sharma was made to sit with two Backward leaders! Perhaps, never in history, after 1947, a Brahmin leader, that too the one second-in-command, has been made to fall from grace like this, that the entire aura of the Brahmin community has got shattered. Another video, going viral on social-media, shows Sanjeev Balyan, a MP from BJP in a road-show, saying to his supporter ‘Panditwad Murdabad’. He has denied the incident and what else can he do?

The way Dinesh Sharma has been ‘snatched-of-his-honour’, leaves the big question as to what would be the alternative available to the Shiites of Lucknow, who with one of two exception, that too with a ‘may-be’, have been orbiting around Dinesh Sharma for the last five years? There is hardly anyone from the ‘Shiite clergy’ who has not rallied for Dinesh Sharma, inclusive of all, or around Brijesh Pathak-another Brahmin Minister? But now even Brijesh Pathak will have to scurry for space, as the rug from under the feet of Dinesh Sharma has been snatched. Perhaps, it takes a cue from an incident of BSP (2007-12) government when BSP CM Mayawati had made the entire Muslim clergy to ‘draw-their-shoes-off’, and thus, to become a smirk for all times to come, with a simile with that of Prophet Moses, who had gone to meet God, on Mount Sinai, with his bare-feet.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see as to how BJP will fare, as a large chunk of Backwards like Rajbhar, Kushwaha, Maurya, Kurmi etc have already abandoned BJP and the Brahmins who exercise a lot of influence in UP, today sport a lot of disdain for BJP, while in Western UP the Jats hold the key to power, but are aligned with RLD-SP coalition against BJP, where ‘chasing’ BJP candidates or ‘hooting’ them is a norm of the day.

March 10, will decide all.

***

The writer is a former UP State Information Commissioner and a political analyst.