‘Brahmin self-respect’ vs #vikas. the Muslim community seems committed to ‘Maharajji’.
“Voting this time will be on the basis of Brahmin swabhiman, self-respect,” said Kunal Chaturvedi, 27. “Vikas, development, is a separate issue.”
Kunal, a teacher in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, is one of 80,000 Brahmin voters in Chillupar constituency, which goes to the polls on March 3. With 25,000 Bhumihars, 40,000 Yadavs, and 12,000 Nishads, Chillupar is a “power centre” for the Brahmin community and has had a Brahmin MLA since 1985. In 2007, 39 percent of Uttar Pradesh’s Brahmins voted for the BJP in the assembly election. Ten years later, during the 2017 election, this percentage rose to eighty.
Gorakhpur has nine constituencies, and the Bharatiya Janata Party won eight of the nine seats in the 2017 assembly election. Only Chillupar had voted for the Bahujan Samaj Party and its sitting MLA, Vinay Shankar Tiwari, recently quit the party and joined the Samajwadi Party.
In keeping with past trends, both the BJP and the Samajwadi Party have fielded Brahmin candidates. The SP candidate is sitting MLA Tiwari, the son of former Chillupar MLA Hari Shankar Tiwari. The BJP candidate is Rajesh Tripathi.
A change of heart
Kunal’s extended family comprises his wife, younger brother Vishal, and his parents. The family lives in Belsari village.
Vishal, who works as a sales executive with a private firm in Gorakhpur, shared his brother’s disillusionment with the Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.
This disenchantment stems in part from the death of one Vivek Tiwari in September 2019. Vivek, who worked with Apple in Lucknow, was allegedly shot dead by a police constable; the police first claimed it was self-defence before arresting two constables in connection with the murder.
Then there was the controversial death of gangster Vikas Dubey in an “encounter” in July 2020. Last year, a panel concluded that Dubey had been patronised by local police, among others, and recommended an inquiry against “erring public servants”.
“There is goondaism under this government, so much so that people are scared of the police,” Vishal said. “The Brahmins should realise the importance of their vote and make a choice accordingly.”
Digvijay Nath Tripathi, 73, a retired subedar in the same neighbourhood, told Newslaundry he’s upset with the state government.
“People from a particular caste have been appointed for higher posts under this government,” he said, an oblique reference to Adityanath, a Thakur, and appointments made from the Thakur community.
However, he said he admired the efforts of the Modi government in working towards “one rank, one pension” for army personnel. Digvijay also disagreed that Vikas Dubey’s death was a trigger of discontent, saying, “He was a criminal. But the court should have had the final word in his case.”
Women and youths, however, had different concerns.
“Price rise, whether it’s cylinder or mustard oil, is an issue for us,” said Digvijay’s wife Durgawati. “There are no jobs under the BJP government as well.”
The couple’s grandson Prashant, 22, told Newslaundry he’s been trying to secure a government job, but with no success. “I had appeared recently for an exam for the post of sub-inspector,” he said. “When the answer key was released, there were around 10,000 candidates who scored full marks in general studies. How is that even possible?”
The sub-inspector exam in question was conducted by the UP police recruitment board in November and December last year. Many candidates pointed out discrepancies, which the board called “baseless”.
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