From Lakshman to Lakhan Pasi as Lucknow’s ‘actual architect’: A change in BJP narrative post-polls

For several BJP leaders, Lucknow’s origin has always been linked to Hindu mythology, with the city referred to as “Lakhanpuri” or “Lakshmanpuri”, the land of Lord Ram’s brother Lakshman. However, the changed political landscape after the Lok Sabha elections has forced a shift.

Welcoming leaders to the party’s state working committee meeting in Lucknow on Sunday — attended among others by BJP president J P Nadda and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath — state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said it was important to remember “shahr ke vastavik bharatiya vastuvid (the actual Indian architect of the city)” Lakhan Pasi, saying that the meeting would be incomplete without invoking the Pasi king who is believed to have ruled in the 10th or 11th Century.

Till last year, some BJP leaders were pushing for Lucknow’s name to be changed to Lakshmanpuri. But with the INDIA alliance getting a chunk of the support of Pasis — the biggest Dalit community in UP after Jatavs — the ruling party has taken note. Getting back the community’s support will be crucial in the coming by-elections for 10 Assembly seats whose legislators have been elected to Parliament.

Pasis comprise 16% of the Dalit population in UP and are among the most electorally influential communities in the state. They play an especially significant role in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh: Faizabad, Lucknow, neighbouring Barabanki, Hardoi, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Unnao, Rae Bareli, and Pratapgarh. With Pasis backing it, the INDIA alliance either won several seats in this region — Faizabad, Barabanki, Sitapur, Kheri, Pratapgarh, and Rae Bareli — or was able to reduce the victory margins of sitting BJP MPs in Lucknow, Hardoi, and Unnao. The BJP has estimated that Pasis