As the BSP inches towards a slender lead in successive phases of the UP polls, Mayawati’s strategy of social engineering is attracting attention. Though the BSP is trying to cobble a social coalition of dalits, upper castes, OBCs and Muslims, the focus is clearly on the party’s efforts to win the brahmins.

In retrospect, Mayawati planned her strategy of social engineering quite early. The first change was discernible when she made Satish Mishra national general secretary of BSP in October 2004 and later sent him to Rajya Sabha. The Maya-Mishra duo was floated with a view to providing a visible symbol of the growing cordiality between the two communities. Mishra’s induction was followed by ‘brahmin jodo sammelans’. She was not against brahmins, said Mayawati, but against manuvad.

This was followed by the creation of ‘district bhaichara committees’ which had a brahmin president, dalit secretary, and a two-third brahmin membership. The purpose was to accommodate as many brahmins as possible so that they work as ambassadors for the party within their community.

But why should brahmins and dalits come together? There are some cogent reasons why they should. One, brahmins and dalits were at two ends of social hierarchy and there has always been a disconnect between the two. But that also ensured that they had no direct social or material conflict. On the other hand, the dalits and OBCs have clashed as the latter, being the dominant land owning class, tried to exploit the former. Secondly, dalits have found a role reversal in society since 1995. Earlier the brahmins were at the dictating end and the dalits were at the receiving end. But, since 1995, after three stints of Mayawati as chief minister, dalits have seen how a ‘dalit ki beti’ can dictate. On the other side, there is the desire of the brahmins to influence mainstream politics again — they have been marginalised since 1989.

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