The Times of India News Service

LUCKNOW: With an eye on the Dalit vote bank in Uttar Pradesh, Union telecommunication minister Ram Vilas Paswan would be holding a series of rallies in the state later this month.

Announcing this, Ram Asrey Singh Kushwaha, the state president of Lok Janshakti, the political party floated by Paswan, told reporters on Tuesday that the minister had decided to concentrate on UP, since most parties were hoodwinking Dalits and not working for their uplift.

The backward castes have understood the truth behind the high-talk of the likes of BSP leader Mayawati and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, he said. With a trustworthy leader emerging in Paswan, he predicted that the Dalit votebank would see a sea-change in the coming months.

Lauding the Union government and the prime minister for good governance, Kushwaha said the ploy of opposition parties to destabilise the country in wake of the Tehelka expose had come to nought.

Paswan would be on a three-day whistle-stop tour of UP from May 22 and would address rallies in Gorakhpur, Deoria, Mau, Varanasi, Mubarakpur, Azamgarh, Satawar and Rae Bareilly. The party is putting all efforts to mobilise its resources for the maha rally in Bidhun block in Kanpur, which falls under the legislative constituency of the state president.

Making it clear that the main target of Lok Janshakti was BSP and SamajwadiParty, Kushwaha added that his party had already completed the membership drive and had declared the first list of office-bearers of the state unit including district presidents.