Uttar Pradesh: How Murder Of A Retired Teacher In Sitapur Has Triggered Fresh 'Brahmin Politics' In State

With the time of electioneering drawing near for Bihar, the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh is also bustling with politics

Photo/PTI

New Delhi: With the time of electioneering drawing near for Bihar, the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh is also bustling with politics. After the murder of a retired school teacher named Kamlesh Mishra, who coincidentally belonged to the Brahmin community, the opposition parties of the state have finally got an opportunity to present the ruling BJP government as an anti-upper caste party. The opposition parties had been looking for such an opportunity since long. Though elections in the state will take place in 2022, the Aam Admi Party which lacks a strong hold in the state, has already become active. AAP MP Sanjay Singh sent some of the party leaders to Sitapur to meet the grieving family of Mishra, but they were detained by police. Sanjay Singh has condemned the police action and attacked the Yogi government by saying that under CM Yogi’s rule, Brahmins can be killed, but people cannot even express grief. The Saffron party was also targeted by Shiv Sena, which has very few workers in the state, over the murder of Mishra. Sena which faced constant attacks from BJP over the sensational topics of Rhea Chakraborty and Kangana Ranaut, has now attacked BJP over law and order situation in UP. Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted: “It is very painful to see the constant attacks on a particular caste in Uttar Pradesh & the deaths of its members. The silence of the state government and the central government's turning away from its responsibility is quite worrisome. Hopefully, action will be taken and the culprit will be punished soon.” Samajwadi Party has also demanded arrest of those who killed Kamlesh Mishra. Opposition parties are trying their best to portray Yogi Govt as against Brahmins. Why all of a sudden, all the parties are so concerned about the people of this society? In fact this concern is ‘electoral’ as UP has about 11 percent Brahmin voters. In a bid to woo the section, the Samajwadi Party has announced to install 108 feet statue of Parashuram, while Mayawati has announced to build a hospital in the name of Parashurama and in Congress, Jitin Prasad is demanding a government holiday on Parashuram Jayanti. However, the Brahmins of UP supported the BJP in the 2017 Assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.