BJP sets up panel for UP Brahmin outreach
The committee was formed following a meeting of the community leaders from the state with party president J P Nadda and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, party functionaries familiar with the matter said. State party leaders also held a brainstorming session in this regard on Sunday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday formed a four-member committee to decide on outreach programmes for the Brahmin community in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh in an effort to bolster support among its traditional support base.
The committee was formed following a meeting of the community leaders from the state with party president J P Nadda and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, party functionaries familiar with the matter said. State party leaders also held a brainstorming session in this regard on Sunday.
At the meeting, a senior party leader said, it was also decided that Union minister of state for home Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni, whose son is an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, will be touring the state as part of BJP’s plan to reach out to the Brahmins.
“During the meeting in Delhi… it was decided that the party would talk about the various initiatives that have been taken for the (Brahmin) community,” a BJP leader said, wishing not to be named.
“The Brahmin community has always supported the BJP and this time too they will vote for us. The Centre and state government has done a lot of work,” a BJP MLA in Uttar Pradesh said, seeking anonymity.
The four-member panel, the functionaries cited above said, will be headed by Rajya Sabha MP Shiv Pratap Shukla and will also comprise UP MP Dr Mahesh Sharma, Gujarat MP Ram Bhai Mokhariya and senior party leader Abhijat Mishra.