BJP chief Amit Shah has meal with Dalit family in Modi's constituency

Varanasi: As part of his plan to woo the Dalits ahead of the UP assembly election in 2017, BJP president president Amit Shah on Tuesday had meal with a Dalit family in one of the village in Sevapuri Assembly segment under Prime Minister Narendra Modi Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency.

Read: BJP not celebrating, only giving report of work to people: Amit Shah

Shah, who was on his way to Allahabad to address a farmers' rally, took a brief halt at Jogiyapur village and had lunch with the family of Girjaprasad Bind and Ikbal Bind, who belong to the Dalit community, Sanjay Bharadwaj, BJP media-in-charge said.

Read: Amit Shah steers clear of controversial issues for UP Assembly polls

Shah’s rally comes four days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh to mark two years in office, virtually launching the BJP’s campaign in the massively important state.

Several senior party leaders have been in Allahabad, where the BJP’s executive will meet on June 12 and 13, reviewing the preparations for the rally.
The BJP clearly wants to dispel the notion that it is a party which provides little space to Dalits, who constitute 17% of the population in UP.

Earlier this month, the BJP chief took a holy dip with Dalit sadhus in Kshipra river at Kumbh in Ujjain.