There is realisation in the state leaders of BJP and Congress that if they favour the controversial bill, then they would not get the support from 18 lakh strong state government employees, who had gone on strike to oppose the bill.

The leaders of BJP also feel that upper caste voters, especially Brahmin and Rajput and Banias, had been supporting BJP and Congress in the past, and if they continued their support to controversial bill, then the parties stand to lose their votes from the important segment of the society, the middle-class government employees.

Senior BJP MPs from UP like Mr Rajnath Singh, Mr Murli Manohar Joshi and Mahant Adityanath expressed their concerns over the saffron party’s stand to support the bill.

At a parliamentary party meeting held in New Delhi, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Murli Manohar Joshi, reportedly warned the BJP leadership that if they continued to support the controversial Bill, they would have to pay a heavy price, particularly in UP and other Hindi heartland states.

Firebrand BJP MP Adityanath said that supporting the legislation, which has been struck down by the Supreme Court once, would be a political mistake.

State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Laxmikant Bajpai has openly sided with the anti-quota protestors, saying the party is not in favour of benefiting one section of society at the cost of another.

Bajpai has also written to BJP national leadership about the resent in 18 lakh state government employees about the bill and their party could not afford to antagonize this huge section of society.

BJP MLA Satish Mahana from Kanpur openly criticized the party’s stand on the controversial bill.

State BJP leaders and party MPs are shocked over the way state government employees targeted state headquarters for several days and vandalized the property. BJP leaders are aware that party MPs and state leaders feared losing support from upper caste if party continued to support controversial bill and if would be difficult to face Lok Sabha polls.

So much so that former chief minister Kalyan Singh, who is all set to join party next month, also voiced his opposition to the bill and announced that he would vote against the bill in Lok Sabha.

Similarly, Congress leaders are also shocked by party’s stand on the controversial bill but majority of them have decided to remain silent.

Only Vivek Singh MLA, who is also one of the eight zonal heads, has come out against the party’s stand to support the bill and urged Lok Sabha members to listen to their conscience before casting their vote for bill.

Senior Congress leader feel that party would lose support from backwards and upper caste in Lok Sabha which would gross loss in Lok Sabha polls. (IPA Service)