Brahmins, Muslims on Congress agenda
By Subhash Mishra | ENS - LUCKNOW
29th October 2012 10:19 AM
By promoting three ministers from Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leadership has made it clear that it was determined to revive its traditional support base of Brahmins and Muslims.
It has promoted Ministers of State Jitin Prasad and Rajiv Shukla, both Brahmins, by showering upon them more portfolios -- Defence and the HRD, and Planning, respectively, with an aim to woo the Brahmins who had deserted the Congress long back and shifted their loyalties to the BJP and the BSP. With the next parliamentary elections drawing closer, the party has made a desperate attempt to please the Brahmin community and has again chosen to ignore another upper caste -- Rajputs -- by refusing to make any of the MPs of this caste a minister from UP.
The elevation of Shukla comes as a surprise even to the Congress circles as he had hardly contributed in popularising the party among Brahmins.
Shukla, a Rajya Sabha member, has never been a grassroots leader. However, giving additional charge of Defence and the HRD to Jitin Prasad has sent waves of celebration among his supporters. Prasad had recently been appointed as the zonal head of the Congress in the state, who would look after eight parliamentary constituencies.
Ignoring the controversies hovering over Law Minister Salman Khurshid, the party has promoted him as the External Affairs Minister. Khurshid had been caught in the controversy over the alleged irregularities in his Zakir Husain Memorial Trust. Though the minister had failed to lure Muslim votes in the recent UP Assembly elections, the party has again evinced its trust in him.
Similarly, the other ministers from UP like Beni Prasad Verma and Shri Prakash Jaiswal, who were in news for their outspokenness, have also retained their respective ministries.
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Comments(5)
The deprivation of the lot of Brahmins by the centre an all the states alike of Brahmins is substantail and serious tht would not been alleviated merely by throwing some crumbs of promotion to some brahmins in the UPA council of ministers. Their educational avenues and employment opporutunities need to be protected from being taken away from them. In fact, they are living in the nation suffering the lo of Jews of Europe. The trouble is that they do not unite and make concerted action during the elections,.
Posted by s subramanyan at 10/29/2012 11:36 Reply to this Report abuse
The deprivation of the lot of Brahmins by the centre an all the states alike of Brahmins is substantail and serious tht would not been alleviated merely by throwing some crumbs of promotion to some brahmins in the UPA council of ministers. Their educational avenues and employment opporutunities need to be protected from being taken away from them. In fact, they are living in the nation suffering the lo of Jews of Europe. The trouble is that they do not unite and make concerted action during the elections,.
Posted by s subramanyan at 10/29/2012 11:37 Reply to this Report abuse
It is naive to presume that a party can secure brahmin votes enbloc by appointing a brahmin or two as ministers. Voter behaviour is decided by a gamut of intractable issues. Individuals often do not follow the herd. All members of a single caste would not vote for one single party. There would be differences, in many cases, even between spouses. In normal times, the voting pattern would remain scattered. Only in exceptional cases, like emotive issues involving the whole community, entire communities gravitate (swing) towards a single party. It is time political parties in general (and Congress in particular) had dropped the notion that votes of particular community or caste can be garnered by appointing a person or two as Ministers from that community or caste. The electoral politics of the country has since grown too complex that such generalisations do not yield tangible results.
Posted by chandrasekharan at 10/29/2012 13:13 Reply to this Report abuse
Yes, more divisive politics... the 'divide and rule' policy continues. Sigh.
Posted by Kumar at 10/30/2012 07:40 Reply to this Report abuse
Well Nehru was also a brahmin for that matter. Congress is known to pick rogues from all communities. Their attention and goodwill won't be with patriotic Muslims or patriotic Brahmins, most of who are to be found in the non-congress camps.
Posted by Kumaran at 10/30/2012 19:11 Reply to this Report abuse