In the Lakhimpur violence case, the government's vote bank politics failed

Lucknow, Ta. 10

When elections are to be held in Uttar Pradesh early next year, the Lakhimpur violence case has thrown the BJP into votebank politics. For the BJP, a ditch on one side and a well on the other. The government had made a concerted effort to avoid the arrest of Ashish Mishra in the case, but the government's vote bank politics had failed.

The politics of racist votebank is very important in elections in Uttar Pradesh. Brahmins are an important vote bank for the BJP in the state. However, for some time now there have been reports of Brahmins being unhappy with the yogi government. While Ashish Mishra is the main accused in the Lakhimpur Khiri violence, Union Home Minister and Ashish's father Ajay Mishra claimed before the government that taking action against Ashish could upset Brahmins. The government had avoided arresting Ashish Mishra for five days to save the Brahmin vote bank. But on the issue of Lakhimpur violence, the farmers took a hard line and took a firm stand on Mishra's arrest.

In addition, Mishra's problem was exacerbated when a video of two cars being driven over farmers went viral. The government finally had to arrest Ashish Mishra on Friday after succumbing to pressure from farmers. Ashish's arrest has now put his father Ajay Mishra's ministry in jeopardy.