To regain OBC votes,SP looks to Gorakhpur

The selection of Gorakhpur as venue comes at a time when strong regional political outfits like Peace Party of India (PPI),Janwadi Party (JP),Bhartiya Samaj Party and Ati Pichhara Varg Mahasangh are badly damaging SP’s prospects in the area. While PPI enjoys good support among the Muslims,particularly the poor,JP and Bhartiya Samaj Party have their political bases in Chauhan and Rajbhar castes.

Things have worsened for SP in the wake of expelled party leader Amar Singh’s ongoing padyatara in favour of a separate Purvanchal state comprising 147 Assembly and 28 Lok Sabha seats. Mulayam has always opposed such an idea.

The last time SP had held its state conference in eastern UP was in 1999. The meet was organised in Deoria district. “In the last one decade,it had preferred places like Agra,Meerut and Kanpur,” said a leader.

Against such a backdrop,the SP is finding it difficult to restore its lost votebank. According to insiders,through this state session,the party aims to mobilise its workers among the OBC and minority community. During the meet,it plans to give due importance to all leaders representing the region.

Admitting that the emergence of regional outfits in the region is a source of worry for the leadership,party MLA Ambika Choudhari said: “By selecting Gorakhpur,the party has certainly sent out a strong message about its concerns for the problems faced by the people here.” The party will pass its political-economic resolution at the state session,he added.

“By the time the 2012 Assembly elections will begin,the regional outfits will not remain such important political forces. It was a phase and such outfits came up. We will make the people realise that such forces are meant for damaging our mission to end Mayawati Raj,” said party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhari.

The leaders of the regional outfits maintained that Mulayam’s decision to hold the state conference in Gorakhpur is a reflection of the party’s desperation to bring back OBC voters into its fold.

“The Gorakhpur session is not going to give any relief to Mulayam Singh Yadav. Gone are the days when he was considered to sole leader of OBC in this region. His politics is confined to only a particular caste,” said Dr Sanjay Chauhan,president of Janwadi Party. His party had bagged good votes in Lok Sabha seats of eastern UP.

Bhartiya Samaj Party president Om Prakash Rajbhar said Mulayam has ditched the poor people belonging to the OBC. “Time has changed and one cannot fool the voters,” he said. According to him,regional outfits like PPI,Janwadi Party and Bhartiya Samaj Party have joined hands to contest the 2012 Assembly elections.

The Bhartiya Samaj Party had fielded 21 candidates in the last Lok Sabha elections and bagged over 50,000 voted in constituencies like Chandauli,Ghosi and Varanasi.

The president of PPI,Ayub,is also not surprised by Mulayam’s move. “We are not a threat to anyone. We want to ensure smooth transfer of power in the hands of the people who are really poor,” he said.