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New Delhi: The brutal daylight murder of a power department contractor, belonging to the dominant Brahmin community, in Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath’s political stronghold of Gorakhpur has placed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the back foot. Police have arrested eight individuals in connection with the crime so far. They also plan to invoke the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against the accused.

The horrific killing of Shiv Kumar Tripathi, captured on camera and widely circulated across social media platforms, has provided fresh ammunition to the opposition in the state, especially the Samajwadi Party. The SP is using the incident to accuse the Adityanath government of failing to address the alleged targeted killings of Brahmins.

Brahmins represent a critical vote bank for the BJP and punch way above their weight in state politics. With the 2027 Assembly election in UP fast approaching, the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP has launched an aggressive campaign to court the community. By portraying the ruling BJP – led by Adityanath, who was born into a Thakur community – as anti-Brahmin, the SP is seeking to exploit deep-seated fault lines between the two rival groups. Thakurs and Brahmins have historically maintained a fierce political rivalry across eastern Uttar Pradesh, particularly in the Gorakhpur belt, which serves as the epicentre of Adityanath’s Hindutva politics.

Against this political backdrop, both the Samajwadi Party and the Congress have seized upon the Gorakhpur incident. They are using it not only to burst Adityanath’s tall claims of solid law and order in the state but also to strengthen the narrative of systematic Brahmin victimhood........

© The Wire