Party state secretary and in-charge of the ‘Pichhda Varg Pratibha Samman Samaroh’ Amar Pal Maurya said, “Focus is on Yadavs as they now have come to know that Samajwadi Party has merely used them as a vote bank and hence they are now inclined towards BJP. We are only making efforts to associate them with BJP.” (File Photo)
BJP leaders have been instructed to ensure that talents from the Yadav community are shortlisted for the ‘Pichhda Varg Pratibha Samman Samaroh’ (felicitation of talents from Other Backward Castes), held in the party’s 92 organisational district units as part of ongoing celebration of the birth centenary year of ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya.
The programmes are being organised judiciously as the top rung has also directed organisers to assign one minister from the state government to attend these events. For felicitation, the party has been selecting farmers, students, traders, social workers, sportsmen, singers, government officials, IAS and PCS (serving and retired) officers. They are being honoured with a memento and an “appreciation certificate”.
So far, such programmes have been held in Bahraich, Lucknow, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti and Kushi Nagar districts. In Ambedkar Nagar, the chief guest, Minister Jai Prakash Nishad, felicitated 25 OBC talents including three Yadavs – an educationist, a farmer and an ex-serviceman – on August 27.
In Lucknow, Cabinet Minister Anupama Jaiswal felicitated 25 people from OBC including 15 Yadavs on August 29. BJP district president Ram Niwas Yadav said that most were lawyers, teachers, village heads and BDC members. “Focus is on association of Yadavs with the party,” he said. In Shrawasti, on August 27, BJP felicitated over a dozen Yadavs including students who secured over 60 per cent marks in the state board and CBSE exams. Medical practitioners and retired government officials from the community were also honoured. Minister Swati Singh was chief guest.
“There were four Yadavs among the 15-member committee formed to select the persons for felicitation,” said Buddhi Sagar Yadav, BJP district general secretary and in-charge for the event. “We are trying to associate as many Yadavs with BJP. We are helping them by getting their grievances redressed through our MP and ministers,” he added.
In Bahraich, on August 20, at least 12 people from Yadav caste were felicitated in a programme in the presence of Cabinet Minister Swami Prasad Maurya.
Party state secretary and in-charge of the ‘Pichhda Varg Pratibha Samman Samaroh’ Amar Pal Maurya said, “Focus is on Yadavs as they now have come to know that Samajwadi Party has merely used them as a vote bank and hence they are now inclined towards BJP. We are only making efforts to associate them with BJP.”
In Etawah, the Yadav bastion, the felicitation ceremony is scheduled for September 13 and state minister Girish Chandra Yadav will be chief guest. BJP district president Shiv Mahesh Dubey said, “Yadavs will certainly be in the list because the party top leadership has already sent a message to connect Yadavs with the party.”
BJP has engaged seven leaders from the Yadav community to attend these programmes as chief guests. Girish Chandra Yadav is the only minister from the community in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet.
Three party MLAs including Ram Chandra Yadav, Mahendra Yadav and Sanjay Yadav along with ex-MLC Kashi Nath Yadav, state secretary Subhash Yaduvansh and Awadh region vice-president Ram Prakash Yadav are being invited to these events as the main speakers. In Kushi Nagar, six OBC members were felicitated on August 29, but none of them were Yadavs. Event in-charge Pradeep Singh said, “The Yadav population is very low in the district and there was no Yadav in the local party unit as well.”
