UP chief minister and BSP president Mayawati, in an unexpected move, has dissolved all district and city units of the party, including the Bhaichara committees meant to promote the concept of “social engineering”.
The chief minister announced this at a party meeting on Thursday but the party press release made no mention of the decision. The press release issued by the party merely said that the ongoing BSP agitation against inflation was being suspended in view of party revamp and would be revived from September 1.
Later in the night, however, BSP sources confirmed that all district and city units and the Bhaichara committees had been dissolved and a major party re-organisation was on the cards.
Party sources said that the revamp was aimed at rejuvenating the party organisation for the next Assembly polls. Ms Mayawati, apparently feels that the party organisation needs to be strengthened further to meet the challenges posed by Opposition parties in the 2012 Assembly elections.
The Bhaichara committees that were set up with the intention of bring upper caste votes into the BSP fold have also been dissolved since the party leadership felt that the performance of those heading these committees was not up to expectations.
The chief minister, who has already announced that her party would not participate in any byelections now, is keen to prepare the party for the Assembly polls. The BSP is determined to return to power with greater majority in UP in 2012.
Interestingly, Ms Mayawati has again entrusted the task of bring Brahmins into the BSP fold to party general secretary Satish Chandra Misra.
In March this year, Ms Mayawati had announced that Mr Misra had been asked to leave aside political work and concentrate on the legal issues before the party. She had even made him the chairman of the BSP’s national legal cell. Ms Mayawati’s decision to assign political task to Mr Misra once again, adds to his political stature.
Ms Mayawati has further assigned the task of bringing OBCs into the party fold to state BSP president and Minister Swami Prasad Maurya while UP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui will strengthen the party in reserved constituencies.