Brahmins feeling humiliated by BJP: BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra

Senior Bahujan Samaj Party leader Satish Chandra Mishra tells ET in an interview why BSP will get Brahmin support. Excerpts:

Are you attempting to consolidate Brahmin vote?

There is certainly a feeling among Brahmins of being humiliated by BJP. Murli Manohar Joshi and Kalraj Mishra were displaced from their seats. Haren Pathak, the five-time MP, was denied a ticket and so was Lal Muni Choubey in Bihar. 80% of jailed policemen in Gujarat are Brahmins. BJP has a strategy against Brahmins. BSP will get more support from the community than it did in 2007. This time we have given 21 tickets to Brahmins.

Reports say that non-Jatav Dalits are consolidating behind BJP...

This is false propaganda. I have held extensive meetings with communities and their feedback is that BJP and SP have an understanding for communal polarisation. The only way to defeat this tie-up would be to consolidate behind BSP.

Will BSP benefit from Muslim tactical voting?

The SP government has presided over 150 riots a year, but there was not even a local skirmish when Mayawatiji was chief minister.