Form of words:
Lucknow: With Lalitesh Pati Tripathi exiting last week, it seems that Congress’s road to projecting Brahmin faces in Uttar Pradesh is over.
In the last five years, several influential Brahmin leaders, including Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Jitin Prasad and the late ND Tiwari, have left the party, saying their key supporters were being neglected. Prasad’s move to the BJP has, in fact, proved fruitful for him, as in a ministry expansion on Sunday, CM Yogi Adityanath inducted him as a cabinet minister.
Tripathi, a descendant of a family that has been associated with the Congress for more than 100 years, also cited disregard for his decision to quit the Congress.
“When the dedicated party workers who stood by the party in difficult times are being sidelined, it is not at all appropriate to remain in the party,” he said on Thursday, adding that it was a difficult decision because of the shared history. .
Tripathi family
A fourth generation Congress member, Lalitesh is the great-grandson of former Union Railway Minister and Uttar Pradesh CM Kamalapati Tripathi.
Kamalapati’s elder son Lokpati Tripathi was also a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government. Lokpati’s son Rajesh Pati was also an MLC in UP. Later Rajesh’s son Lalitesh became MLA from Mirzapur on Congress ticket in 2012.
The Tripathi family had a good rapport with the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Tripathi was the closest family to Nehru-Gandhi Family. In the 1970s, whenever Mrs (Indira) Gandhi came to UP, Kamalapati Tripathi used to sit next to her. Even after Kamalapati’s death, the family shared a similar bond with the Gandhi family,” said Dr Pankaj Kumar, professor of political science at Allahabad University.
“People close to the Tripathi family still say that they have direct access to the Gandhi family. Now, his (Llitesh’s) departure is definitely a setback for the Congress in eastern UP,” Kumar said.
A source close to the Tripathi family said that due to his links with the Gandhi family, Congress leaders are finding it difficult to believe that Lalitesh has left the party.
“This family still has a very good relationship with the Gandhi family. Both Rajesh Pati and Lalitesh have direct access to them… so everyone in Congress is still not convinced that this family can leave the party anytime,” the source said.
Read also: UP Congress booklet rebukes ‘corrupt, casteist, dynastic’ SP, tries to counter talk of alliances
Prasad family
Earlier this year, another Brahmin face of the UP Congress – Jitin Prasada – quit the party to join the BJP, and now, Yogi Adityanath has inducted him into his ministry as a cabinet minister. The BJP plans to get him elected to the Legislative Council.
Former Union Minister Jitin used to be close to Rahul Gandhi.
His father, Jitendra Prasad, was a senior Congress leader who contested against Sonia Gandhi for the post of party president in 2000. He was also the political secretary to two former prime ministers – Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao. He also served as the UPCC President in 1995. Jitendra’s father Jyoti Prasad was also a Congress MLC.
A well-known Congress source told ThePrint that Jitendra Prasad’s decision to challenge Sonia Gandhi for the post of party president affected their relationship.
“Jitendra Prasad had good relations with Rajiv Gandhi, but he contested for the post of Congress President against Sonia Gandhi, which affected it. But after his death the Congress high command gave ticket to his wife, who unfortunately lost the by-election.
“In 2004, Jitin Prasada got the ticket and won the election. In 2008, he was made a Union Minister during UPA-1. He was again made a minister in UPA-2. But he lost three consecutive elections between 2014 and 19. He was among the probables of the Congress to become the UP chief, but the party did not choose him,” he said.
This source said the reason for Jitin Prasad’s exit was “Team Priyanka”, an aide of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who managed his activities in UP, who was constantly sidelining him.
Prasad was among the so-called ‘G23’, a group of 23 leaders who wrote to Sonia Gandhi demanding more accountability and pressing for an overhaul of the Congress after its defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“When Jitin’s name came up in G23, a resolution to sack him was passed in Lakhimpur Kheri. This left Jitin in a deep shock,” said the source.
Bahuguna family
Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who is currently a BJP MP, left the Congress in 2016. She was the UPCC chief between 2007 and 2012.
Rita Hemvati is the daughter of Nandan Bahuguna, a leader from the hills of what is now Uttarakhand, who served as the CM of undivided UP between 1973 and 1975. In 1977, when Indira Gandhi lifted the Emergency and called for fresh elections to the Lok Sabha. Bahuguna left the Congress and formed a new party called Congress for Democracy (CFD) along with Babu Jagjivan Ram and Nandini Satpathy. He contested the 1984 election on Bharatiya Lok Dal ticket against Congress candidate Amitabh Bachchan, but lost the election.
Hemvati Nandan’s son Vijay Bahuguna was the CM of Uttarakhand from 2012 to 2014. He was also a two-time MP from Tehri Garhwal. He left the Congress in 2016 and later the same year sister Rita also left the party. Now both are in BJP.
A source close to the Bahuguna family said, “Both Rita and Vijay were angry as they were constantly being neglected.”
ND Tiwari farewell
Narayan Dutt Tiwari, another tall leader from the hills, who served as the CM of UP thrice and the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand once, joined the BJP ahead of the 2017 assembly elections. Tiwari was a senior Congress leader who also served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
His son Rohit Shekhar was appointed as an advisor to the UP Transport Department under Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party regime. Just before the 2017 UP election, however, Tiwari, his wife and son joined the BJP.
What do Congress leaders say about Brahmin exodus?
Several UP Congress leaders and analysts who spoke to ThePrint said the party’s shift in focus towards wooing OBCs and its reliance on dynasty has led to its downfall.
“There was a time when the Brahmin vote in entire UP was controlled by the Congress because of these families. Congress was the first choice for Brahmins, but now most of our prominent Brahmin leaders have left the party. In the name of Brahmin leaders, we are left with Pramod Tiwari, (his daughter) Aradhana Mishra and Rajesh Mishra. Though they have strongholds in their constituencies, they are promoted as leaders of entire UP,” said a senior UP Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
“Had they (Congress high command) made Jitin Prasada or Lalitesh the PCC president or CM face, they might not have resigned. But the party is focusing more on wooing the OBCs, who are already dominated by the SP and the BJP.
Another party leader said, “The high command in UP keeps reshuffling its cards. They have done so many experiments here in the last 10 years but nothing worked. For example, if we look at our last three UPCC presidents – Nirmal Khatri, Raj Babbar and Ajay Kumar Lallu – very little is known about their castes. Caste always matters in UP.
Another leader said, “After Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s departure, the party stopped paying attention to Brahmins. Hence the Brahmins completely switched to the BJP. Now most of the old Congress families are going. It’s disappointing.”
However, retired Lucknow University professor SK Dwivedi said the Congress has weakened in Uttar Pradesh over the past three decades due to its dependence on dynasticism, and is not giving a chance to the new leadership.
“Had they invested more in non-dynastic leaders earlier, perhaps the situation would have been different. it’s too late now. If they need to be revived, they should develop new leaders in the state,” he said.
(Edited by Neha Mahajan)
Read also: The RLD chief is now ‘Chowdhary Jayant Singh’ or Bade Choudhary. and it is politically important
subscribe our channel youtube And Wire
Why is the news media in crisis and how can you fix it?
India needs independent, unbiased, non-hyphenated and questionable journalism even more as it is facing many crises.
But the news media itself is in trouble. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism are shrinking, yielding to raw prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the best young journalists, columnists and editors to work for it. Smart and thinking people like you will have to pay a price to maintain this quality of journalism. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can Here.