Day after UP bypolls, Rahul Gandhi hails BSP founder Kanshi Ram as ‘great social reformer’

Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s remarks are being seen as an attempt by the Congress to reach out to BSP president Mayawati, who was mentored by Kanshi Ram. Mayawati’s BSP lent crucial support to the SP, which won Gorakhpur and Phulpur bypolls.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday paid rich tributes to Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram on his birth anniversary, hailing him as a great social reformer.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi arrives for an event in Kuala Lumpur on March 10. (AFP)

The remarks came a day after the Samajwadi Party, aided by the BSP, scored two stunning wins in Uttar Pradesh wresting two Lok Sabha seats from the ruling BJP.

“Kanshi Ram was a great social reformer. His untiring efforts to bring the oppressed social groups in the mainstream had left an indelible remark on Indian polity,” Gandhi said, paying respects to the late leader on his 84th birth anniversary.

Mayawati’s decision to back archrival SP in the bypoll led to the BJP’s rout in Gorakhpur, the seat vacated by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and Phulpur, which was the Lok Sabha constituency of deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav met Mayawati on Wednesday evening, leading to speculation the arrangement may well continue into the 2019 Lok Sabha election, making for a formidable caste combination.

The Congress, which forfeited its deposit in both the constituencies, has been relegated to the margins in Uttar Pradesh hat sends the most – 80 -- members to the Lok Sabha.

It had tried to revive its fortunes by tying up with the SP in 2017 state election but the alliance was wiped out, with the BJP sweeping to power with a brute majority.