It was Ajay Mishra's caste, which had played a crucial role in his induction in the union cabinet in its second expansion and it is his caste, which appears to have come to his aid at a time when the opposition is gunning for his head over his son's alleged involvement in the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in October.
Mishra, a 'brahmin', had been inducted into the union cabinet with a view to 'douse' the perceived anger in the electorally influential Brahmin community against the saffron party in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly poll is scheduled to be held two months later.
Also Read | 'He is a criminal': Opposition demands immediate resignation of Ajay Mishra over Lakhimpur violence
Although Mishra, who was popularly known as 'Maharaj' and had an image of 'muscelman' in Lakhimpur Kheri, was not known to be a familiar 'Brahmin' face in the state, his sacking could result in a 'backlash' from the community which the BJP could not afford as the community was considered to be among its 'core' vote bank.
In fact, the BJP got prominent Brahmin Congress leader Jitin Prasada to cross over and inducted him in the UP cabinet to further woo the community ahead of the state assembly polls.
''We cannot afford to do anything that provokes the Brahmins at a time when the election is so close....there may be a backlash,'' admitted a senior BJP leader while speaking to DH on Thursday.
A section of the BJP leadership was of the view that the demands for Mishra's resignation by the opposition parties could turn out to be a ''blessing in disguise'' for the party. ''We can paint the opposition as anti-brahmin,'' the leader added.
BJP's worries over a possible 'Brahmin backlash' stemmed from the voices of discontent from among its own leaders, including MLAs, who had alleged that the Brahmins were being 'persecuted' under the current dispensation (Yogi Adityanath).
A BJP legislator from Lambhua Assembly seat in Sultanpur district Deomani Dwivedi, who hailed from the 'Brahmin' community, had sought to know from the state government about the number of 'Brahmins' murdered in the state since the BJP came to power in UP and in how many cases the police were able to arrest the culprits.
'Brahmins' who form around 10 per cent of the electorate in the state, are a deciding factor on around a dozen Lok Sabha and over 50 Assembly seats.
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