Expelled BSP leader and former minister Babu Singh Kushwaha is emerging from the wings and is all set to become the rallying point for OBCs, both within and outside the Bahujan Samaj Party.
If Mr Kushwaha succeeds in doing so, he will be the first ex-BSP leader to find a firm foothold in state politics after being expelled from BSP.
According to sources, conferences of non-Yadav and non-Kurmi OBC communities like Kushwaha, Maurya, Shakya and Saini communities are being planned across the state, particularly in Bundelkhand that has a large concentration of these communities.
Mr Kushwaha is expected to be invited as the chief guest in these conferences that will begin in January when elections will be just round the corner.
“The idea is to promote Mr Kushwaha as the face of OBC communities that have been given a raw deal in politics due to the dominance of Yadav and Kurmi leaders. While he was in BSP, Mr Kushwaha went out of his way to ensure jobs to boys in Kushwaha, Shakya, Saini and Maurya communities. He was always available to members of OBC communities even though he was not often seen in public. We will now project him as a leader of this OBC group,” said a BSP MLA belonging to this group. The MLA, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that OBC legislators in the BSP had been neglected ever since Mr Kushwaha was asked to resign in April this year.
“The officials ridicule us and treat us with contempt simply because we belong to the same caste as Babu Singh Kushwaha. If we are made to align with him, then we might as well go public with our support to him,” the legislator said.
If the OBC castes manage to implement their plans to promote Mr Kushwaha as an OBC leader, then it could spell major trouble for the BSP which, till now, had been getting support from these castes. Though the BSP is trying to project state president Swami Prasad Maurya as the new OBC face of the party, it has not yet succeeded in doing so till now.
Incidentally, as a trial run of the conferences to be held in January, a function is being organised on December 25 in Lucknow to honour students from these OBC communities who have excelled in studies. Mr Kushwaha will be the chief guest at this function and hoardings carrying his photograph rather prominently are already up.
Meanwhile, Mr Kushwaha, who is believed to be in Mumbai, could not be contacted and his mobile phone remained switched off.