Photo: Hindustan TimesNew Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday raised the issue of rising incidents of violence against Muslims and Dalits during a rally in Allahabad, ahead of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh early next year. “Atrocities against Dalits and Muslims is increasing day by day and Muslims in the country are scared because of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) and RSS’s (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) communal agenda,” Mayawati said, addressing her third election rally. The focus on winning the support of Muslims and Dalit communities was evident in her choice of Agra to launch her election campaign on 21 August which has a sizeable population of both Muslims and Dalits. “The Dalit-Muslim-non-Yadav OBC-upper caste combination voted Mayawati to power in 2007 but she lost their support, especially the Muslims to SP in the 2012 assembly election. Similarly, we saw a portion of the Dalit vote shift to BJP during the Lok Sabha election in 2014.

Source: Mint September 04, 2016 16:18 UTC