Lucknow, Feb 11: With a view to counter the anti-Thakur image of BSP and prevent the Congress from making forays into the Dalit vote bank, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has fielded a Thakur for the Gauriganj assembly by-election and asked BSP cadres to work towards ensuring his victory.

Jung Bahadur Shah, a Thakur, has been nominated by BSP from Gauriganj, a constituency which falls in the Congress stronghold of Amethi. A win for Jung Bahadur would project that BSP is not anti-Thakur as is being made out by the Opposition in the wake of invocation of Pota against jailed Independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, party sources said.

The opposition as well as a section of the BJP is "falsely painting" the chief minister as anti-Thakur after Raja Bhaiya was jailed, sources said adding that the state government took action against a criminal and caste had nothing to do with it.

The Chief Minister during her meeting with party MLAs and MPs here yesterday asked all party workers to accord top priority to the by-election and work for the victory of party nominee, sources added.
It was only with this aim that BSP decided to contest the by poll from Gauriganj and field a Thakur despite coalition partner-BJP- making a strong claim for it, they said.
The party is also keen to teach a lesson to the Congress by clinching gauriganj, which fell vacant following the death of Congress MLA, Noor Mohammed last year.
Bureau Report