Kayastha leaders to oppose parties not fielding members of community in UP polls

Members of the Kayastha community held a 'mahasammelan' here on Saturday, in which they expressed concerns over their low representation in politics and decided to oppose parties that don't field members from the community in next year's Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Member present at the conference decided to stake claim on the Kayastha-dominated seats in the state, and said they will vote for the party which fields candidates from the caste, according to a statement issued here.

Kayastha leaders from different political parties, including the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP), were in attendance.

Convenor of the 'mahasammelan' and former chairman of Gorakhpur Zila Cooperative Bank Divesh Chandra Srivastava said even though caste mobilisation and organised power have become important in Indian democracy, Kayasthas appear to the weakest politically.

He said the population of Kayasthas in Uttar Pradesh is about 1.5 crore, and they can play a decisive role in about 55 assembly seats in the state.

In the present legislative assembly, there are only three Kayastha MLAs, down from 53 in the First Legislative Assembly, Srivastava alleged.

Main participants in the conference included SP national secretary Naveen Kumar, BJP state spokesperson Harishchandra Srivastava, SP state secretary Deepak Ranjan, former Barabanki municipal chairman Ranjit Bahadur Srivastava, and Gorakhpur Chitragupta temple president Indrasen Srivastava among others.