Why UP’s Brahmins are the eye of 2027 electoral storm

In Uttar Pradesh's politics, the ‘Prabuddha Varg’ (enlightened class) — the Brahmin community — has long been considered the key to power. Making up roughly 12-13 per cent of the population, the community plays a decisive role in the electoral arithmetic of what is called India’s most politically significant state.

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Ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, the battle to tap into the Brahmin votes has once again intensified in the state’s politics, with the recent shikha (sacred tuft of hair kept by members of the Brahmin community) controversy acting as a catalyst. The competition to uphold the Brahmin sentiment has now gone on to manifest itself through pujas, rallies and honour conclaves.

Row over targeting Brahmins

It all started with the incident in January, where Brahmin priests were allegedly mistreated in Prayagraj, a pilgrimage city in Uttar Pradesh, during Magh Mela, with some batuks’ (young Brahmin priests) shikha being pulled by police personnel.

It was reported that Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand, a spiritual leader, was heading for a holy bath when the police intervened and asked him and his assistants to abide by the law. When they objected, a confrontation followed.

Deputy CM calls act 'great sin', 'atones'

The matter soon took a political colour, all the more since it was linked to the sentiments of the electorally significant Brahmin community. Brajesh Pathak, one of the state’s two deputy chief ministers and a key Brahmin face of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) there, called the act of pulling the shikhas a “great sin”.

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He also invited several batuk boys to his official residence in Lucknow on Thursday (February 19), where he applied tilaks to their foreheads, washed their feet, worshipped them with folded hands and showered them with petals in a purported act of atonement.

According to political analysts, Pathak’s gesture was aimed at pacifying the Brahmins, and the BJP wanted to convey to them that their honour is its highest priority.

With the Samajwadi Party’s PDA (Pichda, Dalit and Alpasankhyak) turning into a strong recipe for electoral success and the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh not favouring the BJP much, it is not surprising to see the saffron party reaching out to the Brahmins in a bid to extend its stay in power to a third successive term.

OBC leader also eyes Brahmins

Immediately after Pathak’s act, Om Prakash Rajbhar, a cabinet minister in Yogi Adityanath's government and chief of the Other Backward Classes (OBC)-based Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, also chipped in.

Suggesting that he doesn’t want to confine his strategies to OBC politics alone, he sent special invitations to 10,000 prominent Brahmin members to attend his 'Samajik Samrasta Rally' (social harmony rally) to be held in Azamgarh, known to be a SP bastion, on Sunday (February 22).

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This step signals that Rajbhar does not want to confine himself to OBC politics alone, but also wants to expand his acceptance among upper-caste communities, particularly Brahmins. In an area considered a Samajwadi Party (SP) stronghold, this strategy is seen as politically significant.

Mayawati tries to rekindle 2007 strategy

Former chief minister Mayawati, who has increasingly fallen behind in UP politics in recent years, also found an opportunity to revive the prospects of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Openly appealing to the Brahmins for their support, she assured that their honour would be protected if she came to power.

She cited the example of 2007, when she became the chief minister for the last time after her party secured an outright majority through a Dalit-Brahmin alliance (her fundamental stance had changed from “Bahujan Samaj” to “Sarvajan Samaj”).

The wily politician is once again setting her eyes on the same social-engineering strategy, particularly with the Brahmins of late showing signs of dissatisfaction with the BJP regime over various issues. It has been learnt that Mayawati has already deployed her close lieutenants to cement the connection with the Brahmin community.

Akhilesh suggests Adityanath govt is against Brahmins

SP president Akhilesh Yadav, who has challenged the Adityanath government in the state aggressively over issues, continued to accuse it of insulting and persecuting Brahmins. Referring to 'Haata' — the Gorakhpur residence of the Purvanchal region's influential late Brahmin leader Harishankar Tiwari — he has taunted that the current government doesn’t like the ‘Haata’.

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The former CM even recalled the 2020 encounter-death of Vikas Dube, a gangster from the Brahmin community, which brought the focus back on UP’s age-old Brahmin-Thakur rivalry. By rekindling memories of that episode, he tried to send the message that Brahmins are neglected and unsafe under the BJP administration led by Adityanath, who is a Thakur.

The confrontation between the chief minister and Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand and the allegations of the police mistreating Brahmins are something the opposition would try to project as a selective targeting of the influential community by the administration.

Alankar Agnihotri resignation

This debate in the state over Brahmin identity was also fuelled by the recent resignation of Alankar Agnihotri, Bareilly's former city magistrate and a senior provincial civil servant officer, citing disagreement with the state government’s policies.

What made the matter intense is his forming a new political party, Sanatani Culture, on the issue of Brahmin honour and self-respect. He said the party would contest elections and also form alliances if required.

The Agnihotri issue signalled that the issue related to Brahmin identity and pride was not restricted to electoral rhetoric alone but was also setting a ripple effect at the social level.

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An administrative officer publicly resigning in this manner is seen as a signal that this issue is not limited to electoral rhetoric alone, but is also creating a deep stir at the social level.

Overall, the Brahmin vote has emerged as a top draw in UP’s pre-electoral politics. Every stakeholder is doing its bit through various means to lure the community to its respective fold.

The question now is: amid symbolic gestures and political assurances, whom will the Brahmin community eventually choose to trust?

(This article was originally published in The Federal Desh)