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BJP to carry on Kalyan’s legacy for OBC-Hindutva connect
Ahead of the 2022 UP polls, party mulling naming various schemes after the party’stallest OBC leader in state
LUCKNOW After announcing roads named after Kalyan Singh in various parts of UP, the ruling BJP is now mulling naming various schemes after the party’s tallest OBC leader in the state who formed a heady cocktail of backward politics and Hindutva to head the first BJP government in UP in 1991.
The Yogi Adityanath government and the state BJP unit are expected to unveil various initiatives aimed at building on Kalyan’s twin OBC-Hindutva connect ahead of the 2022 UP polls.
“OBCs are expected to play a big role in 2022 UP polls. Up against mainly the Samajwadi Party, which also commands loyalty among OBCs, the BJP could well look to play up the party’s association with their own big OBC name - Kalyan Singh,” said Prof Manuka Khanna, head of political science department at Lucknow University.
A proposal to name Aligarh airport after the late leader could be put up before chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet and an ‘Asthi Kalash’ Yatra (a journey with urns containing ashes of the departed soul) across the state is also said to be in the works.
It is learnt that preparations were underway to immerse Kalyan’s ashes in major rivers of UP, including Ganga in Varanasi and Saryu in Ayodhya. The ashes would be gathered from the banks of Ganga at Narora, some party leaders indicated. Shraddhanjali sabhas (memorial meetings) too would be organised across the state, they said.
Kalyan Singh breathed his last after a long illness at Lucknow’s SGPGI on Saturday at 9.15pm. Since his demise, the BJP’s top leadership at the centre and in the state – from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who escorted Kalyan’s mortal remains everywhere for three days – paid glowing tributes to the departed leader who despite his brief fling with the Samajwadi Party, was a “RSS favourite.”
Modi had referred to Kalyan Singh’s name and said the late leader lived up to his name. Kalyan is a Hindi word, meaning ‘welfare’ and in the run up to the 2022 UP polls, several schemes or initiatives with Jan ‘Kalyan’ (people’s welfare) written over them are expected to be announced, party leaders confirmed.
“We are working on that (naming schemes and projects after the late leader),” a UP minister admitted, adding that the late leader’s name and the meaning it carried were such that it could fit into “virtually anything that we undertake.”
Numerically, OBCs are the biggest voting group in the state and that is why in an election year the BJP is planning to connect with OBCs in Kalyan’s name, opined political experts.
Kalyan Singh who belonged to the Lodh sub-caste of OBCs was handpicked by RSS veteran late Bhaurao Deoras to head the UP BJP unit in 1984 and subsequently tasked with countering the ‘Mandal’ (caste) agitation with ‘kamandal’ by taking up the issue of temple at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
The BJP has only recently promoted young Rajya Sabha MP BL Verma, a protégé of Kalyan as the union minister of state who was tasked with carrying out one of the seven ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatras’ in the state.
On Tuesday, the BJP’s OBC leaders targeted Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, an OBC too, for not visiting personally to bid adieu to the “biggest OBC leader.”
These included state’s labour minister Swami Prasad Maurya, BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Unnao, Swami Sachidanand Hari Sakshi Maharaj, better known as just Sakshi Maharaj, a Lodh.
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, BJP’s OBC face in UP – who announced plan to name several roads in the state after Kalyan Singh, agreed.
“We may have ideological differences in politics but there are some common courtesies which SP and even Congress didn’t care to show. That’s pathetic,” said Maurya.
UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh, who too is an OBC, targeted the SP chief too. “He couldn’t travel barely a kilometer to pay tribute to the biggest backward leader. Is it due to vote bank concerns,” the state BJP chief asked.
Akhilesh Yadav had conveyed his condolences on the demise of Kalyan Singh describing him as a “great administrator” who would be missed. BSP chief Mayawati had visited the Mall Avenue residence of Kalyan Singh’s grandson Sandip to pay her last respects to the departed soul.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Rajnath and BJP chief JP Nadda flew down to Lucknow to pay respects to the departed leader, union home minister Amit Shah along with other union ministers and chief ministers of various BJP ruled states was present when the last rites of late leader were performed on the banks Ganga at Narora, Bulandshahr on Monday.
Kalyan’s mortal remains were placed at the Vidhan Bhawan, UP BJP office and subsequently taken to Aligarh where they were placed in a stadium to let his supporters pay their respects. They were also taken to Atrauli before the last rites.
