New Delhi :As the UP assembly polls draw near, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to woo Brahmin voters. Recently, BahujanSamaj Party held a 'Seminar for Enlightened Classes' mainly focusing on the vote bank. Now, Samajwadi Party is following suit.On Sunday, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav called for a key meeting of Brahmin leaders in Lucknow and discussed the alleged atrocities over the community in the current BJP regime in the state. According to sources, Samajwadi Party will also play on front foot and will be raising the issue of Brahmins on a larger scale. The Brahmin leaders who attended the meeting included Mata Prasad Pandey, Abhishek Mishra, Manoj Pandey, SanatanPandey and Pawan Pandey. Now the five Brahmin leaders of the Samajwadi Party will head a committee which will ensure that the issues of the community are addressed. The SP chief has also said his party stands firmly with Brahmins.

Meanwhile, reacting to the Brahmin outreach by both the parties, BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, 'Samajwadi Party which used to boast the principles of DrLohia is now once again back to their caste-based politics. Till when the Samajwadi Party will continue to play the caste card? Uttar Pradesh has now risen above caste politics and UP is now moving ahead on the agenda of development. It seems that both SP and BSP are in a race to score more numbers on the basis of caste. But the people of Uttar Pradesh, especially the Brahmin community, which is an enlightened community, is not going to get into politics of caste and will go with the development and future of Uttar Pradesh.'

At the Seminar for Enlightened Classes in Ayodhya on July 23, BSP national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra alleged that Brahmins were being harassed and overlooked in the current BJP regime. 'We don't believe in mixing religion with politics. We are from the Brahmin community and we have faith in all Gods. What better place could it have been other than Ayodhya and to have Darshan and taking blessings of Lord Ram before starting our programme,' said Mishra.'If BJP thinks that Lord Ram belongs to them then it is their narrow mindset. Lord Ram belongs to everyone. It is sad when people do politics in the name of Lord Ram,' added Mishra.The BSP has been trying to appease the Brahmin community like it did in 2007, which had helped the party win 206 of the 403 assembly seats.